Beca the Guardian Angel
by Mysterious-Teen-Blogger
Summary: When Beca got off of work, she found something that would forever change her life. What did she find? A little girl. Deciding to help the girl, Beca will face new challenges as well as her past. {ON HIATUS}
1. Chapter 1- Meeting Beth

Chapter 1- Meeting Beth

When Beca woke up, she had a feeling that today was going to be an interesting day. She went about her usual routine, brushed her teeth, got dressed, went to class, mix, lunch, then work. Nothing out of the ordinary happened yet, but she still had that feeling. Jesse had hit on her, again, and she had turned him down, again, deciding not to tell him that she's gay, again. After work, she was supposed to head to Aubrey and Chloe's for their weekly get together, but there was road work, so she had to take a different route to her dorm so she could grab her stuff to work on the mix she was making for their acapella group. She had become friends with the two seniors who ran the group, and apparently they were headed for failure.

Aubrey and Chloe were having a heated argument one time Beca had come over, and she said she could make a mix for them. Aubrey had a mini breakdown from the potential of losing, then both girls profusely thanked her for volunteering to help their group. She needed to make the vocal arrangements and sat in on a practice so she could figure out what would work, and she had turned down their offer to join the group. They didn't know she could sing, and she planned on keeping it that way, for now at least. Beca cursed herself because she had grown… a crush, crushes? on her two senior friends but decided against acting on it for several reasons. 1. She's pretty sure Chloe and Aubrey are as straight as rulers. 2. They are Beca's only friends. 3. They're both graduating at the end of the year, and Beca will not be left yet again. 4. There is nothing about Chloe Vanessa Beale or Aubrey Grace Posen that does not scream 'out of Beca's league.' 5. Even if they were gay, which is not likely, would they ever even consider something as out of the norm as a polyamorous relationship? Beca's bet is on no. And 6. Beca is not ready to share her history. With anybody. She has barely shared anything with the two people who were her self proclaimed best friends, let alone anyone else since her mom passed when she was six.

Beca was walking to her car, after spotting the road work, and decided to duck through the alley next to the station instead of walking all the way around. As she walked through the alley next to the station to get to her car, she found her interesting thing. Or rather, person.

In the middle of the dark, damp alley was a little girl. Maybe four or five. She was crying, shivering, looked very small for her age, and was bleeding. A lot if her medium length brunette hair that was matted with blood was anything to go by. Beca could see the cuts on the girl's arms and legs, and one of her legs looked swollen and discolored. She was wearing shorts that weren't quite the right size, and a shirt that was too big. Beca had a feeling in her gut that she knew what this girl had gone through, and she knew she could help her. She wanted to help her. She _needed_ to. She just felt a pull to that poor little girl. Beca stopped about ten feet from the little girl and put her hands up before she spoke softly.

"Hey, sweetie? Are you okay?" Panic filled chocolate brown eyes snapped up to Beca, then she began to try to scramble away.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I'll stay here, okay? I'm not going to hurt you." The girl looked at Beca wearily, but settled back down against the wall.

"My name is Beca. Is it okay if I come a little closer to you? I'll move really slowly, okay?" After receiving a hesitant nod, Beca slowly walked up to the small girl. She had cuts and bruises littering her tiny body, and Beca was filled with rage. She gingerly sat down against the wall opposite the little girl, who hadn't taken her eyes off of Beca. She then noticed that her leg was definitely swollen, and she had what could only be a hand print shaped bruise on her ankle.

"I'm not going to hurt you sweetie. It looks like someone already did though. Are you hurting?" The girl nodded her head with tears in her eyes, and Beca's heart broke further.

"Do you not like talking?" She shook her head.

"Alright, well, how about you tap my hand. Once for yes, twice for no." Beca held an empty hand out slowly between the two of them. The girl timidly placed her shaking hand above Beca's after a moment. She smiled softly at the frail girl.

"Do you want me to help you find your parents?" Two very quick taps, accompanied by a frantic look, told Beca who had hurt the girl. That the feeling she had earlier was right. 'God damn it,' she thought.

"Did you runaway from home?"

 _Yes._

"Did… did your parents hurt you?" She asked in the softest tone possible. The little girl eyed Beca suspiciously for a moment, then tapped.

 _Yes._

"Can you point to where you got hurt, sweetie?" The little girl pointed at her arms, her left leg, and her head.

"Can you tell me how old you are?" She held up five fingers.

"Five! Wow! I'm so old, I'm 19." The little girl had a tiny smile at Beca's joke.

"Ok, I have an idea, and I want to know what you think about it, okay?" When the girl nodded, Beca continued.

"I'm going to take you to the hospital, so you can feel better, then we're going to get you away from your parents, okay?" The little girl looked up at Beca pleadingly.

"Do you want to get away from your parents?" She nodded sadly.

"I promise I'm going to do everything I can to help you, okay? I'll stay with you the whole time at the hospital. I'm not going anywhere, okay?" The little girl simply nodded.

"Can you tell me your name sweetie?" The girl looked frightened, but Beca held her hand back out. The little girl placed her hand in Beca's. Beca held her hand tenderly, trying to show that she would never hurt the little girl.

"Elizabeth Marie Jacobs," came a tiny voice.

"Elizabeth? Do you like being called that?" She shook her head violently. Beca scrunched her nose up.

"I feel the same way, kiddo. My name is Rebeca, but I go by Beca. Rebeca makes me feel old. Would you like me to give you a nickname?" Elizabeth nodded her head slowly.

"Alright… Liz?"

 _No._

"Lizzie? Liza?"

 _No. No._

"Beth?" The little girl nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Alright, Beth it is. Are you cold?" She shook her head no, but Beca saw her shivering. She slid her hoodie off and held it up.

"Can I help you put it on, sweetie?" Beth tentatively nodded, then Beca moved over and slipped the tiny girl's arms into her hoodie.

"There we are. All snug and warm. When was the last time you ate, Beth?" The little girl shrugged.

"Not today?" She shook her head.

"Has it… been a few days?" The girl shrugged. Beca took it as a probably.

"Ok. Food, then hospital, how does that sound?" She looked terrified.

"It's okay, I won't leave you. We'll get you into the bathroom and clean you up, eat, then we can get you to a doctor, okay?" Beth nodded slowly, then tried to stand. She let out a little cry as she stood on her leg. She fell right back onto the floor, tears in her eyes. Beca knelt next to her and smiled playfully, trying to hide her own fear and anger.

"You know what this means Beth?" She asked with a fake happy voice. Beth looked up at her with tears in her eyes and shook her head.

"This means that I get to carry the princess," she said in a singsong voice.

"Is it alright if I carry you, m'lady? It would be an honor," she said, bowing slightly. Beth gave out a watery giggle, and Beca was damn sure that it was the best thing she had ever heard. When Beth nodded, Beca slowly reached her arms toward the little girl. She grabbed her around her waist and hoisted her onto her hip. Beth gripped Beca's shirt when she did, but didn't seem as scared _as_ she did before. Well, as scared of Beca at least.

"I won't let you go, I promise," she said, not moving her gaze from Beth's. The little girl nodded slowly.

"Alright. Let's get you cleaned up, then we'll get some food, huh?" Beth nodded, and Beca smiled at her. She walked out of the alley and back into the station. She walked into the bathroom and set Beth on the counter slowly. She got some paper towels and wet them. While she cleaned the blood out of Beth's hair, she found where it came from. There was a big cut on the side of her head. It looked like it had stopped bleeding at least, but it made Beca furious. She stripped her of the jacket and washed the dirt and blood off of the girl's arms and legs gently. When she was finished, she kissed Beth's forehead.

"I'm so sorry they did this to you Beth. I'm gonna do everything I can to help you." Right there, in that bathroom, Beca decided she would do anything to help her. Beca helped Beth back into the hoodie that swamped her tiny body, then placed her back on her hip. She exited the station, thankfully without running into Luke or Jesse. She walked them to the little cafe that was on the corner and walked up to the display case of sandwiches.

"What kind of sandwich do you want sweetie?" Beth looked at Beca confusedly. Beca assumed she wasn't used to people giving her things.

"Pick whichever one you want. We can share it." Beth bit her lip, and looked at them hopelessly, so Beca made a suggestion.

"PB&J good?" Beth nodded, and Beca smiled.

"Alright, we have similar taste in sandwiches." She jumped in line, lightly bouncing the child on her hip.

"Hi, what can I get you?"

"Can I get two PB&J's, a black coffee and… what do you want to drink Beth?" The little girl leaned in to whisper into Beca's ear.

"Chocolate milk please." Even her whisper was abnormally quiet. It broke Beca's heart that Beth was so scared she was unable to even speak. She has a great grasp of the language, from what Beca can tell, she's just frightened to talk. Probably got yelled at, or worse, when she tried.

"And a chocolate milk, please." The woman rung Beca up, then told her the order would be brought to them in a few minutes. Beca went over to a booth and stalled.

"Do you want to sit on your own side, or with me?" Beth pointed at her, and Beca grinned.

"I hoped you would pick me." Beca slid them both into the booth, placing Beth on the inside so the other adults weren't close to her. They brought the order a few minutes later. Beca handed one of the sandwiches to Beth, along with her chocolate milk.

"Eat what you can sweetie, don't make yourself sick, okay?" Beth nodded and took a bite of her sandwich. Beca saw the little girl's eyes light up while she was eating. While she sipped her coffee, she gently ran her fingers through Beth's chocolate curls. Beth ate half the sandwich, having handed Beca the other half with a small smile and wide eyes, and drank her milk. Beca cleaned up and picked her back up. She got a refill of her coffee, and a water to go, along with the second sandwich she had gotten to save for later, and left.

"Alright Beth, we've got to walk a bit to get to my car. Is that okay?" Beth nodded slowly.

"If anything is wrong, just tug my shirt something, okay? I won't be mad, I promise." Beth nodded again, and Beca began the trek to the parking lot at the station. It took her about ten minutes, but they got there without running into anyone, so Beca was thankful. She was not about to make her kid go through that. Wait, her kid? Beca shoved the thought aside as she unlocked her car doors. She was unbelievably glad that Beth seemed to trust her, and she wasn't about to do anything to change that.

"Sweetie, I'm going to have to put you in the back seat while I drive, will you be okay?" Beth looked terrified, but nodded anyway. Beca bit her lip, trying to think.

"Do you like music?" Beth nodded her head quickly. Beca was thankful for that one.

"Alright, well, do you like Disney?" She nodded again. Beca was glad the little girl had at least had _some_ semblance of a childhood, no matter how much disdain Beca held for the particular franchise.

"Would it help you during the car ride if we listened to some Disney songs?" Beth nodded again, and Beca smiled in relief.

"Well, that's what we'll do then." After making sure that Beth was buckled in safely, she climbed into the front seat and began to drive. When she pulled onto the road, she started the soundtrack for her own favorite Disney movie. It was the _only_ Disney music she had _ever_ purchased, but she did know a handful of other random songs, per Chloe and Aubrey's instance only. She was just biased to these ones. She started with the most recognizable song and smiled as Julie Andrews's voice started to fill her car.

 _It's…. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious_

 _Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious_

 _And if you say it loud enough_

 _You'll always sound precocious_

Beca saw Beth nodding her head to the music in her rear view mirror, it was small, but it was there, and Beca mentally fist pumped in victory that she and Beth shared taste in Disney movies. Beca sang along to the song, earning her a surprised, small smile from Beth. By the time they had gotten to the hospital and parked, they had gone through the entire soundtrack once. Beca quickly learned that Beth's favorite from the movie is indeed Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, while Beca's is Sister Suffragette, but that's mainly because of its feminist implications.

Beca placed Beth back on her hip and walked into the hospital. She walked up to the desk with an angry look on her face. Probably fuming, because the nurse seemed afraid of her.

"How can I help you?"

"I need Beth to be treated. She's been beaten pretty badly," she said with a venomous voice. The nurse's face turned dark as well.

"And what happened?"

"Her parents hurt her." Beca felt Beth fist her shirt tightly and hide her face in the crook of Beca's neck..

"And you are?" Beca sighed.

"I found her. She ran away from home. Can we please admit her while I call a lawyer? I would like _my_ Beth out of those _bastards'_ hands yesterday." The nurse nodded.

"So you don't know her information? Birthdate? Anything?"

"Her name is Elizabeth Marie Jacobs, if that helps. Give me a minute with her, I'll try and get her birthday." Beca took a few steps away from the desk and looked at the terrified little girl who was clutching her shirt.

"Beth, sweetie, do you know when your birthday is?" She nodded.

"Ok. Can you tell me? Or we can figure out another way." The little girl shook her head at the speaking option. So, Beca ran through the months until she got a nod.

"So, July?" Beth nodded again. She began running through numbers until Beth nodded.

"July 12th?" Beth nodded.

"And you turned five this year?" Beth nodded again.

"Alright. 7/12/11. Got it." Beca stepped back over to the nurse.

"July 7th, 2011. That's her birth date."

"That matches the name we have on file. We have her information. What are her injuries?"

"She's covered in small cuts, but she has a really big cut on the side of her head that's worrying me. I don't think it's bleeding anymore, and I cleaned it the best I could earlier, but I'm no doctor. Her left leg is swollen, and she can't put pressure on it." Beca used her free hand to gently run her fingertips over Beth's face, assuring her she was okay. She leaned into Beca's hand while it was there, then buried her face in the crook of Beca's neck again to hide. Beca was glad that not only did Beth seek comfort in her, but that she had comfort to offer the girl. She was glad that Beth has someone on her side now, and she was ecstatic that that person is her.

"Alright, we'll call you back shortly. Just have a seat until then." Beca walked over and sat in a chair, keeping Beth in her lap. The little girl had curled herself into Beca. She wrapped one arm around Beth, grabbing her phone with the other. She dialed the number and held it to her ear, running her hand gently through Beth's hair. It rang a few times before she picked up.

 _"Hello? Beca?"_

"Sheila? I need a favor."

 _"What's going on?"_ Beca had never asked for a favor. Not from anyone. Especially not them.

"Can you meet me at the hospital? Just you and your work stuff please."

 _"You need me at the hospital as a lawyer? Are you okay?"_

"Yes. You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

 _"Alright. I'm on my way. Text me the room number."_

"Thank you, Sheila." Beca had never thanked her step-mother before. Never.

 _"It's no problem. I'll see you in 15."_ Beca hung up, and shifted Beth in her lap so she was looking at the girl, since she felt the wet spot on her shirt. She gently wiped the girl's tears away with her thumbs, then kissed Beth's nose.

"I know it's scary sweetie. What's wrong?"

"Hurts," she whimpered out. Beca's heart shattered even further. She wrapped both of her arms around the sobbing girl softly.

"I know it hurts baby. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I promise. I'm gonna get you away from them. I'll do whatever it takes." Beth curled into a ball in Beca's arms, and Beca just held her. Beca was already working on a legal plan in her mind. She knew it would work. It would have to. As Beth's cries began to quiet down, her name was called.

"Elizabeth Jacobs?" Beca stood, bringing Beth up with her. She followed the nurse into a room.A few minutes later a doctor came in.

"Alright Elizabeth-"

"Can you call her Beth, please? And she probably won't talk to you. Don't take it personally dude," Beca said to the doctor quickly.

"Alright. Beth, I'm Dr. Woods, and I'm gonna help you get better, okay?" Beth looked at Beca, who nodded as she took the little girl's hand. Beca took her jacket off of the girl, and the doctor's face hardened. He quickly looked over the cuts on her arms and legs, without touching the girl, except for a hovering hand over the purple ankle.

"You said she had head trauma?" The doctor asked, turning to Beca.

"Yeah. Here," Beca said, moving Beth's hair gently to show the doctor the approximately two inch long cut in the little girl's head. The doctor reached for it, but Beth jumped back reflexively. Beca looked at Beth sympathetically.

"Sweetie, I know it's scary, but he has to look it at. What if I sat with you? Would that make it better?" Beth nodded. Beca crawled onto the bed, and Beth climbed into her lap. The doctor cleaned Beth's cut, and eyed her leg while he spoke.

"Is there anything else bothering her?"

"Her left leg. She can't walk, and it's been swelling." The doctor gingerly looked over Beth's leg with a grimace.

"I'm going to have to get an x-ray to be sure, but it looks sprained to me. Dr. Stevens, order an x-ray." The brunette male doctor scurried off to get it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name?" The doctor said to Beca.

"Rebeca Mitchell."

"You're not related to the patient?" He asked, clearly confused.

"No. Can we talk outside for a minute?" The doctor nodded and left the room, but Beca turned to Beth.

"I'll be standing right outside the door talking to the doctor, okay? I'll leave me arm in the door so you can see." Beca's last sentence earned her a timid nod from the girl. She kissed Beth's forehead, then moved to talk to the doctor.

"Ms. Mitchell-"

"Beca."

"Beca, I'll be honest. It's clear that that child has gone through hell." Beca ran her free hand through her hair and sighed.

"I found her in an alley covered in her own blood. She hadn't eaten in days and was scared shitless. I cleaned her up, got her some food, and brought her here. She told me her parents were hurting her. Said she ran away from home." Beca sighed as she wiggled the fingers that were sticking into the room playfully, hoping to ease Beth's discomfort.

"Look, I just… I just want to take care of her. I have a lawyer on her way here to help with the legal issues. I'm going to do whatever it takes to help her." The doctor nodded his head.

"It's incredible, what you're doing for her. Someone will come in to x-ray her shortly. If it's broken, she'll be in a cast for two to three months. If it's sprained, like I think it is, she'll get a cast for a few weeks. Two or three maybe. Other than that, she's underfed, but if we get her eating regularly, she'll be fine. I'm a little worried about possible dehydration, but it's nothing too serious from what I can tell." Beca sighed in relief.

"Thank you." The doctor nodded again, then left. Beca double checked their room number, then texted it to Sheila. She responded immediately that she was walking in. Within three minutes, Beca heard heels clicking on the tile floor. She saw Sheila, her step-mom, coming down the hall.

"Beca, what's going on? You're not hurt?" Sheila asked.

"No, not me. It's uh, Beth. Elizabeth. She's five. Look, I found her in an alley, Sheila. She was… she was covered in blood and cuts, and she was shaking. She told me her parents had hurt her, and she ran away. I got her some food and brought her here."

"What did you need me for?" Beca bit her lip then. She knew everyone would think she was crazy, but she felt a connection with Beth, and she wouldn't let her go back to those people, or be placed in the system. That could be worse than her current situation, and Beca shuddered at the thought of tiny Beth going through that. It's not something she would wish on anyone.

"I want you to help me get her removed from her parents' care." There was a moment of silence where both Beca and Sheila were well aware that Beca was thinking that there was no way she was letting that girl get put in the system.

"I want to adopt her."


	2. Chapter 2- The Hospital Stay

Chapter 2- The Hospital Stay

"I know, it sounds sudden, but I just… I just _know._ This is the right thing to do. Beth is… I can already tell she's an amazing kid. She's smart, and nice, and can really become something if she gets the chance to. And I know what's she's going through, so I can help her. I'm planning to use the inheritance from my mom's family to find a nice apartment for me and Beth, and it won't even dent it. And… and I'll stay here and finish college and teach music. That was always my backup plan, now it's just my forefront. That way Beth has a stable living environment too." Sheila was stunned, but Beca was sure. She knew it would be worth it. Screw LA, screw being a music producer. She would gladly teach music if it meant keeping that little girl.

"You… you're willing to give up your dream job for this girl? This kid that you met today?" She asked calmly.

"Yes. I know, I probably sound fucking crazy, but… Shiela… this just feels right. Me and her. I know that this is the right decision. And not just morally or whatever. I know that I won't regret this."

"And you're ready to juggle school and motherhood?"

"I mean, I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm gonna do my best. Worst case scenario, I cut back on my course schedule. It's not like money's gonna be an issue if I don't have a job, so I can just spend my time on Beth and school. It'll be… well it'll be fucking great, Sheila. I don't think that I would ever choose being a music producer in LA over that girl in there." Sheila was absolutely floored.

"Well, the legal work will be hard. If her parents fight, it'll be really rough, Beca."

"I'll fight. I'll fight whoever I have to for her. No one's ever been on her side, and I'm gonna change that. This little girl has never been put first, not even by the people who are supposed to put her first. But that's gonna change. Now she's first. She'll be put first by me." This is the _only_ thing Sheila has ever seen Beca passionate about except for music. And right now, this kid is winning. By a long shot.

"Well, alright, let's meet her then, shall we?" Beca was relieved that Sheila wasn't fighting her on this. Even if she had, Beca would have just hired a different attorney and done it by herself anyway. She's always been on her own, just because her biological father and step-mother were here now doesn't change that.

"She's afraid of adults. So don't expect her to talk." Sheila nodded, and they both walked into Beth's room, a nurse following behind them. Beca retook her place on the bed, and slowly pulled Beth into her lap so she could comfort the little girl.

"Beth, sweetie, this is my friend, Sheila. She's gonna help us get you away from your parents."

"Hi Beth. I'm Sheila. I'm going to do my best to help you okay?" Beth just nodded. The nurse cleared her throat then.

"Hi, I'm Sharon. I'll be your nurse this evening and tomorrow morning. Dr. Woods requested an IV drip for Beth because of her malnourishment."

"Is that necessary?" Beca asked.

"Unfortunately." Beca looked at the girl in her arms. She was obviously frightened by the thought of having an IV, which only strengthened Beca's belief of the girl's intelligence.

"Beth, sweetie, look at me, okay? The nurse is gonna take your arm for a minute. Just look at me." Beth nodded, she stiffened when the nurse took her arm, but other than that she stayed looking at Beca.

 _"Just a spoonful of sugar_

 _Helps the medicine go down_

 _The medicine, go down_

 _The medicine go down_

 _Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down_

 _In the most delightful way"_

She sang while the nurse put the IV in the crook of Beth's elbow.

"That wasn't so bad, right?" Beth shook her head as she looked at the IV in her arm.

"The tube has medicine in it. It's gonna make sure that you're healthy." Beth nodded again.

"Beca, I'm going to have to call the police to get this started. The hospital will call her parents if we don't."

"Call the police then. I don't want those f- _people_ anywhere near my Beth." Beca was going to have to learn to not curse so much now that she was going to be raising Beth. Sheila nodded and stepped out of the room, letting Beca's thoughts roam for a moment. She's going to be raising a kid. Does that make Beca her mother? No. No, not yet, at least. Beca has a strong belief that family is not who you are related to. Family is who takes care of you, loves you, knows you. So… maybe she would come to be Beth's mom. If that's what Beth wants. _Is_ that what Beth wants?

"Beth, can I ask you something sweetie?" Beth looked up at her with wide eyes.

"What would you think about staying with me for awhile? It would just be me and you." For the first time, Beca saw the little girl smile. Then she hugged Beca. That was also the first time the girl had initiated contact with her like that.

"Is that a yes?" Beca asked with a chuckle as she brushed some of Beth's hair away from her face. Beth nodded into Beca's shirt.

"Well, we have to do some stuff to make that happen, okay? You're going to have to tell some people about the bad things your parents did to you. Can you do that?" Beth pulled back and looked at Beca.

"Stay?" She asked softly.

"I'm not going anywhere," Beca said with determination. Beth nodded

"I'll be here the whole time, alright? But you'll probably have to actually talk to them. I'm sorry sweetie." Beth just nodded. A doctor came in and x-rayed Beth's leg. It was sprained like the doctor thought. A few minutes later, someone came in and gave her a cast. She had chosen the color blue.

"Why blue?" Beca asked. Beth looked at her then pointed at Beca's eyes.

"Because my eyes are blue?" Beth nodded. Beca smiled and ran her fingers through Beth's hair. After she got her cast put on, Beca dimmed the light and laid the bed down.

"Try to sleep sweetie. It's been a long day, I know." Beth laid in the bed, but looked at Beca. She reached her hand out timidly, and Beca took it.

"What is it?" Beth pulled Beca's hand, and she understood. She toed her shoes off and climbed into the bed. She cradled Beth into her, kissing her forehead.

"Thank you," she muttered as she fell asleep. Beca teared up a little at that. This _innocent_ , _sweet_ little girl had been treated so poorly by her own parents. How the fuck could someone do that? She shook her head sadly because she knows how people do that. Beca just held Beth, thinking about the melodic sound of her voice, until someone knocked on the door. It was about 15 minutes after Beth had fallen asleep. She quietly called for them to come in, and Sheila stuck her head in the door.

"Hey, your dad and the police are here. Your dad wants to talk to you, and the police need a statement from both of you."

"Can it wait? She just fell asleep a few minutes ago." Sheila smiled sympathetically.

"No. If we wait, the hospital will be forced to call Beth's parents." Beca sighed.

"Alright, give me a minute to wake her." Sheila closed the door, and Beca gently began to rouse the little girl. She ran her fingers gently over Beth's face. The soft brown eyes peaked open and looked at her sleepily.

"Hey there sleeping beauty. Those people are here, and they need to talk to you. Do you think you can do it?" Beth's stomach grumbled, and Beca chuckled a little. It was already 10 o'clock. She had found Beth after her shift ended at five.

"I have that other sandwich if you want it sweetie." Beth nodded, so Beca grabbed it. She also put a cup of water next to it. Beth ate half of it, then held the other half to Beca.

"We're sharing," she said quietly. Beca smiled and took the half of the sandwich. She ate quickly, then turned the light back on. She opened the door.

"How many of you have to come in at once?"

"Two officers and me," Sheila said. Beca nodded. She let them in, and took her spot next to Beth.

"Hello Beth. My name is Officer Daniels, and this is my partner, Officer Richards. We're just here to figure out what the best thing for you is, okay?" Beth nodded.

"For these questions, you're going to have to answer out loud sweetie, I'm sorry," Beca said sadly.

"Ok," Beth said quietly. It was so quiet that the officer moved closer so he could hear. He did it slowly, so he didn't scare her at least.

"Can you tell me your name and age please?"

"Elizabeth Marie Jacobs. I'm five."

"So, you have some cuts on your arms and legs. Can you tell me what those are from?"

"Theresa threw glasses at me." Every time she spoke, her voice was so quiet, like she was afraid of being heard.

"And who is Theresa?"

"My mom. She said not to call her that though," she said quietly, again. Beca's jaw set angrily.

"And the one on your head?"

"I hit a picture frame."

"How did you hit the picture frame?" Beca was thankful that the officer was bent down next to her bed, not standing intimidatingly, and he was speaking softly. He was also patient for the few moments it took for Beth to respond verbally each time.

"Thomas threw me into the wall." Beca's eyes filled with rage, and the hand by her side clenched so tight her knuckles turned white. How the _fuck_ could you just throw your kid, _any_ kid, into a god damn wall?

"Is Thomas your father?"

"Yes."

"How long have they been doing things like this?"

"Forever."

"And you ran away earlier today?"

"Yes."

"What happened then?"

"Beca helped me," she said with a tiny smile.

"She sure did. That's all we need for now. Thank you for talking to us, Beth. Ms. Mitchell, we'll need to take your statement."

"Beth, will you be okay with Sheila for a few minutes? I'll keep my arm in the door again." Beth nodded. Beca kissed her forehead, then got up to speak to the officers. Her father was also in the hallway, so he heard everything she said. They asked her for her name, date of birth, and gender.

"Alright, can you tell us where you found her?"

"I found her in the alley next to the Barden Radio Station."

"And what time was that?"

"A little after five."

"And what did you do when you found her?"

"I talked to her. She was covered in cuts and blood. I cleaned her up in the station's bathroom and took her to get some food. She told me she hadn't eaten in days. After I got her some food, I brought her here."

"And she told you that her parents had hurt her?"

"Yeah. That's why I didn't call the police first thing. Because then she would have gone right back to them." The officers nodded in understanding.

"You didn't believe, even for a minute, that the child was lying? Making it up for attention?" Beca shook her head dejectedly.

"No. When you go through something like that… it really changes a person. You can see it in their eyes. Hell, you could see it in her behavior. I have some… knowledge about this type of thing, so I knew she wasn't lying."

"Thank you, Ms. Mitchell. That's all we need for now. We will be in contact with Mrs. Mitchell for the legal matters." Beca nodded. As the officers left, Beca's dad came up to her.

"You want to adopt a child you just met today?" Beca sighed.

"Look, I have it all planned out. I'm gonna use some of my inheritance to get us an apartment. I'm gonna go to college here and become a music teacher. And I'm gonna raise Beth. I'm not leaving her. And I'd rather dig my eyes out with sporks than let that girl go through what I did," she hissed out. Hank had either not heard her last sentence or chose to ignore it.

"And you think you're ready to be a parent?" He asked, which was rich coming from him.

"And _you're_ one to lecture me on parenting?" Beca said bitingly. The fight in Hank died then. After what he had, intentionally or not, put Beca through, he had no right to lecture her on parenting.

"What about your dream? To go be… P. Diddy in LA?" Beca shook her head, determination in all of her features.

"I'd rather teach music and be with Beth. Teaching music to kids was my fallback anyway, so I'm not settling. I'm picking what is more important to me. And that's Beth." Her father seemed stunned.

"I… I really don't know what to say Beca. This is… it's really amazing of you. I guess I just… never pictured you having kids." Beca simply snorted.

"That's because you don't know me Hank. Now, I'm going to go back in with Beth. If you want, you can stay, but if you so much as look at her wrong, you will be out on your ass so fast." Hank held up his hands in surrender, and Beca went back into the room with him. Beca sat on the edge of the bed, placing her hand in Beth's lap for the girl to hold.

"How are you feeling sweetie? Any better?" The girl nodded a little, and Beca smiled softly.

"Good. This is Hank, Sheila's husband. Hank, this is Beth." She noticed the saddened look on Hank's face at not being mentioned as anything, but really, he wasn't anything to her. He was just… he just knows her. He hasn't seen her since she was three, and she went through a really rough time that having him around would have prevented.

"Hi Beth. I'm going to help make sure you can be with Beca, okay?" The little girl nodded happily, the edge of a smile tugging her lips.

"Is that what you want Beth? To be with Beca?" Sheila asked.

"Yes," she said quietly. Beca grinned at her.

"Yeah? Me too. But we need to get you to sleep, okay?" She added after Beth yawned. Beth tugged on Beca's hand sheepishly, so she climbed into the bed and laid down. Beth curled into Beca, who held onto her protectively.

"I won't let anyone hurt you anymore, I promise." She sealed her promise with a kiss to the top of Beth's head, away from the cut. Beth looked at her for a moment, then yawned. She almost looked afraid to sleep.

"I'll be here when you wake up, don't worry sweetie." Beth nodded, then put her head on Beca's chest. Beca rolled them over so she was on her back with Beth lying on top of her. She had one arm wrapped around her shoulders, the other running through her hair gently. She pulled the hospital blanket up around them, and hummed softly until Beth fell asleep. Beca's phone vibrated in her pocket, again, and she cursed quietly when she checked it. She had a bunch of missed calls and texts from Chloe and Aubrey. She was supposed to go to their place for their weekly hangout, but, well… she couldn't. She scanned the messages before typing out two replies, one for each senior.

 **"Sorry Chlo, totally forgot. With Hank and Sheila tonight. My bad. -B"**

 **"Sorry Bre. I ended up spending the night with Hank and Sheila. I totally spaced on our plans and had my phone on silent. -B"**

She got back replies of 'don't worry', and 'it's alright', so at least she wasn't in the dog house with her two friends, both of whom she's crushing on, but that is so _not_ important right now. Beca turned to face Hank when he spoke.

"You're right Beca. I don't know you. I'd like to, but I don't. You're amazing with her, and… if you want to adopt her, I'll support you however I can. It's rather obvious that she won't do well with anyone else. You and her are just good together. I'm happy for you. Both of you."

"Thanks, Hank. That… that means a lot. You guys can go home, I'm just gonna stay with her." Beca was glad that she didn't have any classes tomorrow, since she had made sure her Fridays were clear. Hank and Sheila stood to leave, but Sheila hesitated at the door.

"Beca, while this happens, they won't have her staying with her parents. They'll probably have her stay under your care until everything legal is settled. I'll go to the courthouse first thing in the morning and get the paperwork for her to be forcibly placed into your care until this matter is settled. After that, we can see about permanent guardianship of her." Beca teared up a bit, but nodded her head.

"That's awesome. Thanks so much Sheila."

"No problem Beca. Get some sleep. I'll be back in the morning." Sheila left, and Beca let her first tear fall. She slowly shifted Beth off of her, leaving her alone in the bed. Beca stepped into the hall, leaving the door cracked just in case Beth woke up, and let her emotions hit her. She cried. She cried for all of the horrible things that girl has gone through, and will have to deal with in the future. She thought about all of the things _she_ had gone through, and would have to talk about. She had only ever told one person before, but that was surely about to change. When she finished crying, she thought about the logistics of their situation.

She needs to find an apartment for them to live in, like, now. She also needs to figure out where Beth goes to school. She should be in kindergarten. She would need to buy clothes for her, and figure out what to do with her when she has class, since she's not sure if Beth would be okay going with her, and Beca doesn't want to leave her alone with someone else. There is no way she can get a babysitter, Beca wouldn't be able to leave Beth with someone like that. Beca ran her hands over her face tiredly. She peeked into the room, checking that Beth was still asleep, then headed to the bathroom. She washed the makeup off her face, peed, and went back to Beth's room.

She had moved so much in the time Beca had left that the blankets were tangled around her body and IV tubing. She was still tossing and turning, so Beca assumed it was a nightmare. She gently removed the blankets and climbed into the bed with her. Beth slowly stopped writhing when Beca held her. She draped the blanket over them and put her head down next to Beth's. She kissed her forehead once, then let herself fall asleep.

* * *

Beca woke up to sniffles. She cracked her eyes open and saw Beth rubbing her eyes with her fists, clearly crying. Beca also noticed that it was six in the morning. What a criminal time to be awake.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong sweetie?" Beth sniffled loudly, then pointed at her lap shamefully. Beca looked down and saw the wet spot.

"It's alright, Beth. There's nothing wrong with that. Let me get something to clean you up with and a clean gown, okay?" Beth nodded with another sniffle. Beca stuck her head out the door and went to the nurses' station.

"Hey, can I get a clean kid's gown? She had an accident." The nurse smiled sympathetically and grabbed one from the cart.

"When you get her cleaned up, you can bring her to the play room while someone changes the sheets if you'd like," she said with a gesture to the room down the hall that was brightly painted and filled with toys.

"That'd be great, thanks." Beca went back into the room to find Beth hiding under the blanket.

"Come on sweetie. Let's get you cleaned up, then we're going on an adventure." Beth's head peeked out from under the covers, and her eyes sought out Beca's. She hated that those little brown eyes were red rimmed and glassy, so she tried to fix it.

"Come on, I got you a cool new gown. It's blue and green." Beth's nose scrunched up.

"What? You don't like it?" Beth shook her head. Beca thought for a moment.

"What if I wore one too?" Beth nodded with a small smile.

"Alright, I'll go get mine, then we're putting yours on." Beca left the room and went to the nurse's desk again.

"Can I have an adult gown?"

"What for?" The nurse asked confusedly since she had just asked for a kid's gown.

"Beth doesn't like hers, so I told her I'd wear one." The nurses all smiled at her, and one of them handed Beca a gown. She couldn't care less about her badass persona right now. Beth was just more important. She went back to Beth's room and slid hers on over her jeans and t-shirt.

"See? I have mine on, now let's get yours on." Beca slid Beth to the edge of the bed and slipped off the girls gown, leaving her in a pair of soaked underwear. Beca wasn't letting her wear the ones with urine, and she wasn't going commando, so she grabbed the pair of shorts Beth had been wearing yesterday and slid them on her over the cast after she cleaned her up with some wet wipes. She slid Beth's gown on carefully over her IV and tied it in the back.

"There we go. Now we match!" Beth giggled a little.

"You wanna go for that adventure now?" Beth nodded.

"Alright, I can carry you, or we can get a wheelchair. Which one?" Beth held her arms up and looked at Beca sheepishly. She smiled as she picked Beth up. She held her with one arm, and pulled the IV pole with the other one, so it didn't pull on Beth's hand.

"Alright, adventure time!" Beca carried Beth to the playroom at the end of the hall. They were getting some odd looks, probably because Beca was parading in a gown barefoot, but she didn't care. It made Beth feel better, so whatever. Plus, she was too lazy to put her shoes back on,

Since they were in the pediatrics ward, it had a playroom for the kids. Smart thinking. Beca sat Beth down in one of the tiny chairs, and took the one opposite her. For once, Beca was glad she was so short. (Note, she will deny this til the day she dies, and will never once admit to this out loud, but the thought counts, right?) Beca picked up the pack of cards that was on the table.

"Do you know how to play go fish?" Beth nodded as Beca dealt the cards, and they played. Beth would hold up enough fingers to represent the card number every time she asked Beca, and shake her head no for 'go fish.' Beca had only been with Beth for a day, and the girl was already coming out of her shell. She had started communicating, if only nods and using her fingers and only to Beca, but it was a start. After they played three games of go fish, and she had taught Beth how to play Mario Kart and let her win, Beca decided it was breakfast time, as it was now eight.

"Alright sweetie, breakfast time." She carried Beth back to the room, which now had fresh sheets, and Sheila was in there.

"Morning," Beca greeted as she settled Beth into the bed. She stripped herself of the gown and grabbed the paper menu they had left on the counter for breakfast. You picked what you wanted, called the extension, and they would bring it to your room.

"Here sweetie, pick whatever you want to eat." Beca handed her the menu and a pencil, so she could circle what she wanted for Beca to call and order.

"So, I got the papers for Beth to be placed under your custody temporarily. In a month, there will be a hearing regarding her parents, and another hearing about a month after to evaluate your guardianship of Beth. If all goes well, meaning you take proper care of Beth, she will be placed into your care permanently. I also found a little 2 bed 2 bath apartment about ten minutes from campus that I think would work well for you. Here's the paperwork on that. You have to have a place of residence for the custody papers." Beca looked at the apartment details and smirked. It would definitely work. She would have to paint it, but she could do it. It has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen/ living room space. The bedroom looked big enough for Beca to have a desk set up for her mixing and schoolwork, and a large bed, so that was a plus.

"This will work. Yeah, definitely." Beca glanced at Beth and saw her looking at the paper forlornly with creased brows.

"I actually got the paperwork from the complex for you. It's reasonably priced, too. The utilities are included in the rent, and there is a gym, a laundry room, and a pool. There's also a doorman, so it's a very safe place for you two to be. Here you go, just fill this out, and it will be yours. I know the gentleman who runs the complex, and he took my word that the applicant was trustworthy." It was a really nice apartment, and Beca was glad she had all that money from her birth mother's family. She hadn't found out about that money until she met Sheila, who found Beca's mother's will when she came here. Turns out, her mother's side of the family was loaded, and she was the sole benefactor of her grandparents' fortune.

"Hey Beth, remember what we talked about last night? About you living with me?" Beth nodded with a small smile.

"Well, it looks like for the next month or so, you'll be stuck with me." Beth smiled, it was bigger than the ones she had seen before, but it wasn't a full blown one either. Beth clambered out of the sheets and wrapped her arms around Beca's neck.

"Thank you," she whispered into her ear. Beca kissed her cheek.

"Oh no, thank _you_. I get to live with you, I mean, how lucky am I?!" Beth giggled as Beca helped her settle back into the bed. That's when she realised why Beth had been looking at the paper like she had.

"Sweetie? Do you… not know how to read?" Beth shook her head shamefully.

"Well, I guess I get to teach you then, don't I?" She said with a smirk. Beth looked less embarrassed as Beca settled down behind her.

"You know the alphabet?" Beth nodded. That would make this _so_ much easier.

"Good. Now, think about what you want to drink. Let me guess, chocolate milk?" When Beth nodded, Beca made a mental note to keep it in the house. _Their_ house.

"Ok, so, think about what letters makes the sounds in milk." Beth's bottom lip went between her teeth as she scanned the menu. She pointed at word that had the letter 'm' on it.

"That's the first letter in the word, yeah. Nice job sweetie. Now, think about the next letters. Sound out the words in our head, and piece the letters together." Beth looked back at the menu, then pointed at the word 'milk.' Beca smiled at her.

"That's really good sweetie! Now try to find the chocolate one." Beth looked back at the paper, then pointed to the chocolate milk.

"That's it. Circle that one." Beth circled it, then looked back at Beca.

"Alright. Now, think about what you want for breakfast. And try to sound it out again." Beth looked at the menu for a minute, then curiously pointed at the word 'cereal.'

"Cereal? Oh, right, sometimes the letter 'c' sounds like an 's.' It just makes everything harder in my opinion. Is that what you were looking for? Cereal?" Beth nodded and circled it. Beca kissed the top of her head.

"You're such a smartie pants. You know that? You just learned how to read in like, three minutes. It took me forever to learn how to read." Beth giggled, and Beca got up to call for the breakfast. While she was calling, she thought about how weird it was that a five year old hadn't been taught how to read in school yet. She either had a shitty teacher, or she just couldn't learn it because the teacher scared her.

Beca had given Beth her phone so she could play a coloring game she downloaded while she filled out the paperwork for the apartment and taking Beth in. Beca heard her ringtone, Titanium, which was only the ringtone for two people after Chloe had shared _that_ tidbit of information with her one night, and she looked up to see Beth looking at it curiously. She stood up and looked at it, mentally cursing. It was Aubrey calling.

"One second sweetie. I'll give it back once I finish talking to my friend." Beth nodded and handed the phone back. Beca took a deep breath before she answered.

"Hello?"

 _"Beca? Where the hell are you? You missed our TV marathon, and your roommate said you haven't been there since yesterday."_ Beca heard Chloe reprimand Aubrey about being rude, and it made Beca's heart flutter at the thought of Chloe standing up for her.

"Sorry. Family emergency." Beca had no idea how she was going to deal with Chloe and Aubrey with regard to Beth. She knew the girls would be supportive, but they would definitely overwhelm Beth.

 _"And you couldn't bother to call?"_ She could hear the worrying tone the blonde had taken on, and it made her smile and damn it there she goes again with these stupid feelings.

"Sorry, I completely forgot. I'm a little busy right now, can I call you back later Bre?" Aubrey sighed into the phone.

 _"Fine. You're okay though, right?"_

"Yeah, I'm good. Just some family stuff. I'll call you when I can. Tell Chloe hi for me." She heard Chloe yell "Hey Becs," from somewhere in the background, and both of them chuckled.

 _"Talk to you later Beca."_

"Later Bre." Beca hung up, then hung her head. She would tell them… eventually. She's not sure what she's going to do honestly. She's definitely going to need help with Beth at some point, and the first person she could think to ask would be Chloe, since she's so good with kids. But Chloe is way too outgoing and loud and just… so not like Beth that Beca's not sure Chloe would be the right person to ask for help. She's sure Chloe would do everything she could though. Aubrey. She would probably get along with Beth really well. The image of the two seniors playing with Beth made her smile. Beca shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts, then focused back on the task at hand.

"Beth, sweetie, can I ask you something?" The little girl looked up from her lap at Beca with scared eyes. Sheila was writing things down on the paperwork for Beca's guardianship, so she wasn't paying too much attention.

"Do you know where you go to school Beth?" Beth shook her head.

"You… don't know?" Beth shook her head again, but this time it hung, almost shamefully.

"Sweetie… do you go to school?" Beth shook her head again slowly. Beca saw a tear drop onto Beth's lap and she jumped into action. She would _not_ let this little girl hurt anymore.

"Hey, hey, there's nothing to cry about. It's okay." Beca pulled Beth into her lap and wiped the tears away gently, she noticed Sheila's worried expression.

"Beth, look at me sweetie." She looked more vulnerable than she had before, and Beca was dying inside at the sight.

"I don't think going to school would be the best thing for you, do you? Being surrounded by all those other people all day? All by yourself?" Beth shook her head instantly.

"Well then, I'll just homeschool you. How does that sound?" Beth nodded, and slowly moved forward to hug Beca again. This was only the second time she had initiated a hug with Beca, but it was easily becoming her favorite thing. Beca cradled Beth to her and looked at Sheila, who raised an eyebrow. Beca mouthed Hank's name questioningly, and Sheila nodded her head understandingly. He's a certified teacher. He could come up with lesson plans for her, couldn't he? While Beca was holding Beth, someone brought the tray of food in.

"Ooo, someone's breakfast is here. You hungry Beth?" Beth nodded into Beca's shoulder, but didn't move. Beca shifted them so Beth was sideways in her lap, and they were at the edge of the bed. She grabbed the table that had her food on it and wheeled it in front of them. She poured the regular milk into Beth's cereal, and opened her chocolate milk.

"Here you go sweetie." Beth took the spoon in her hand, and that's when Beca noticed it.

"Beth, are you left handed?" Beth nodded with a mouthful of cereal.

"Well, that makes two of us, huh?" Beth looked at her with her head cocked.

"I'm left handed too. Sheila's right handed, she's weird like that," she whispered conspiratorially. Beth giggled slightly, and it made Beca happy. A doctor came in then.

"Good morning ladies. How are we feeling this morning Elizabeth?" Beth looked at Beca with a deer in headlights expression.

"Does anything hurt, sweetie?" Beth shook her head.

"I think we're doing alright doc. When do we get out of here?" The doctor wrote something down on a pad, then handed it to Beca. It was a prescription.

"When you get that filled, give one if the pain gets too much, and Mrs. Mitchell can take care of her discharge papers whenever you are ready to leave."

"Awesome, thanks." Sheila followed the doctor out to take care of the paperwork, and Beca sat with Beth while she ate. A few minutes later, while Beca was cleaning up the stuff from Beth's breakfast, Sheila came back in.

"Alright. I called my friend that runs the complex, and he said if I give him the paperwork today you can start moving in whenever. And you are all ready to leave the hospital. A nurse will be in in just a minute to take her IV out, then you can go."

"Awesome. Can you sit with her for a minute? I gotta call Hank." Sheila nodded, and Beca turned to Beth.

"Will you be okay with Sheila for a few minutes?" Beth's eyes shifted uncomfortably, so Beca quickly fixed it.

"I'll leave my arm in the door," she said with a wink. Beth nodded then, and Beca exited, phone in hand. She tapped his name and waited, hoping he didn't have a class right now.

 _"Hello?"_

"Hank, hey, I need a favor. A couple, actually."

 _"Sure, what's up?"_ He seemed eager to help… it was oddly unnerving and heartwarming at the same time.

"Well, I'm gonna need to talk to my professors, and I thought it would help if maybe you did it? Most of my teachers don't like me." Hank chuckled into the phone.

 _"I got you the week off. They are all emailing you the work for the week, as well as notes from the lectures."_

"Thanks. And… uh, well, I was hoping you could help me homeschool Beth." There were a couple beats of silence.

"She wouldn't do well in public school. You know that. I just need you to give me the work for her to do, and I'll do it with her."

 _"I'm sure I can do that. I'll draw up some lesson plans and get some books for her, then just follow the lesson plans. I'm sure you'll be a great teacher for her Bec."_

"I'm sure I will. Thanks for this," she said uneasily.

 _"Of course, it's no trouble."_

"Alright, well, I have a little girl to take shopping, and an apartment to move into. I'll… see you later, Hank."

 _"Alright. See you later Bec."_ Beca ended the call as a nurse came toward her. When Beca went into the room, the nurse came in behind her. If Beca remembers correctly her name is Sharon.

"Hi Beth. I don't know if you remember, but I was your nurse last night. My name is Sharon. I'm just going to take your IV out, alright?" Beca sat on the bed with Beth. She hummed softly while the nurse took the IV out.

"There you go, all done. All the paperwork is done, so you are free to go."

"Thanks." Beca untied Beth's gown and slid the girl's shirt on her. It was too big, but it was clean. She was about to pick Beth up to leave, but Beth stopped her. She looked over at the chair that Beca had occupied and pointed at it. Beca saw her jacket sitting in it.

"You want my jacket?" Beth nodded, so she grabbed it. She helped Beth into it, then put her own shoes on. She stood in front of Beth, looking at her softly.

"You ready to go?" Beth nodded, so Beca picked her up. Sheila exited the hospital with them, and they stopped near the entrance.

"I'm going to drop off the paperwork for your apartment, and I'll take care of the legal stuff. Don't even worry about that. Just take care of your girl."

"Thanks again, Sheila, for everything."

"It's no trouble Beca. That's what family is for," with that, Sheila smiled and headed to her car. Beca looked at the little girl in her arms.

"Alright. We need to run some errands, you ready?" Beth nodded, and they headed to the car for a day of shopping. Beca has a long weekend ahead of her.


	3. Chapter 3- Shopping and Family Matters

Chapter 3- Shopping and Family Matters

The first stop was Target. This little girl needed some clothes. Beca carried Beth inside and slipped her into the seat in the cart, then wheeled them over to the kids clothes section.

"Alright sweetie, what kind of clothes do you like? You can just point at them." Beth looked around briefly, then pointed to the dresses. Beca held her groan in, but only because she's _positive_ that Beth would look fucking adorable. Beca started going through the dresses when Beth pointed at one, finally.

"This one?" Beca said with a smirk. Beth nodded, and her smirk widened. It was a black dress with a skull and crossbones on it. Beca never thought she would have a girly girl, but it's okay either way.

"Alright, let's get a couple different sizes, then we can try them on. Let's pick out some more stuff." They ended up getting another dress, a plain blue one, a white skirt, two pairs of shorts, a pair of jeans, and about 10 t-shirts. All different colors and designs. Beca went to the dressing rooms and helped Beth try them on to make sure they fit. They did, and Beca was happy with the choices they made. They got a pack of rainbow colored socks, two pairs of shoes, black converse and blue sparkly light ups. Beth chose three different pairs of pajamas, all with t-shirts and pants. They also got some hair pins and a couple bows. After the clothes, Beca swung into the toy section. Now comes the fun part.

Beth's eyes lit up when she saw the toys, but she didn't point to anything.

"Alright, would you prefer dolls or toy guns and stuff like that?" Beth's brows furrowed, and she shrugged. Beca looked around for a few minutes, then she saw Beth looking at something rather intently.

"Soccer? You wanna play soccer?" Beth nodded with a small smile, and Beca placed the ball in Beth's lap happily. This was something Beca could work with.

"I'll teach you to play when your foot gets better. The doctor said it was sprained, so you'll only be in it for two weeks." Beca took them into the home decor next, and she went straight for paint.

"What color do you want your room to be, sweetie?" Beth pointed at her cast.

"Blue? Alright. Which color blue though?" Beca pointed at all the different shades of blue paint. Beth pointed at a grey-blue, and Beca grabbed the paint shade, a dark grey for her bedroom, and some brushes and paint rollers. Sheila had let her know that she was allowed to paint the apartment, so it was okay. She would come back soon for a food run, but for now she had the things she needed. When she was checking them out, she noticed Beth was staring at something. Following the girl's gaze, Beca saw a sparkly black headband. She grabbed it and put it on the belt without a word. She saw Beth's eyes light up in her peripheral vision, and that was more than enough. Beca paid for everything, ignoring the cashier's wide eyed looks, and left the store. She rode the cart down the sloped parking lot, causing Beth to giggle. Beca snagged the headband out of a bag and slid it onto Beth's head gently, earning her a small smile. She got Beth settled into the backseat of the car, then texted Hank, the little girl occupied by playing with her headband.

" _ **Is it okay if Beth and I stay with you until we get the apartment set up?"**_ His response was almost immediate.

" _Of course. You always have a room here. Sheila and I can help start setting up tomorrow. Are you doing any painting?"_

" _ **My room and Beth's room. I chose grey, she went with blue."**_

" _Sheila and I can do yours, and you and Beth can do hers?"_

" _ **Sounds great. We're gonna grab some lunch, then head to yours."**_

" _See you soon."_ Beca loaded the bags into the trunk of her car, then got in the front.

"Mary Poppins or the radio?" She asked as she started the car. Beth held two fingers up, so Beca turned the radio on.

"You wanna stop for some lunch sweetie?" Beth nodded, and Beca turned at the light. She headed to the family restaurant and prayed she didn't run into anybody she knew. She parked the car, then turned to look at Beth.

"Beth, if we ran into someone I know, how would you want me to introduce you?" Beth's brows furrowed.

"They would ask how we are related." Beth shrugged, her brows scrunched up.

"Well, do you want to be family with me?" Beth nodded her head.

"Alright. Then that's what we are. You're my family, and I'm yours." Beth gave Beca a toothy smile, and Beca saw that some of her teeth had fallen out. Baby teeth. Ick. Beca turned the car off and jumped out. As she unbuckled Beth, she asked her a question.

"You wanna change into one of your new outfits?" Beth nodded, so Beca popped the trunk. They chose the black dress with the skull on it, and her sparkly blue light up shoes. Well, shoe. Beca brought the stuff into the restaurant and went straight to the bathroom. She took the large stall and changed Beth into her new clothes. She also brushed her hair, careful to avoid the cut, and put the headband back in. She put her own jacket back on, forgoing zipping it up.

"There we go. That's much better." Beth nodded, and Beca tucked her old clothes into her messenger bag that acted as her purse, since she _vehemently_ refused to carry a purse. Beca carried Beth back out, and they took a seat. A waitress came over.

"Hi, my name is Mandy, I'll be your server this afternoon. Can I start you off with something to drink?" Beca looked down at Beth with a smirk.

"Chocolate milk?" Beth nodded.

"A chocolate milk for her, and I'll take a black coffee."

"Sure thing. I'll bring that right out." Beca was looking at the kid's menu with Beth.

"Do you know what you want to eat?" Beth nodded.

"Ok, you wanna sound it out and try to find it?" Beth nodded and studied the menu carefully. After a moment she looked up at Beca.

"Did you find it?" Beth shook her head.

"Can you not figure out which letters make the sound?" Beth shook her head again.

"Let me guess, chicken nuggets?" Beth nodded.

"Alright, well, to make certain sounds, like the first part of chicken, or the word thin, we put a letter together with an 'h.' So, we put a 'c' with an 'h' to make the 'ch' sound. And a 't' and an 'h' makes a 'th' sound. Does that make sense?" Beca asked. Beth's tongue was poking out from between her teeth when she nodded and looked back at the menu. She found what she was looking for and pointed at it.

"Yep. That's it. See? You're like, super smart. Did you know that?" Beth smiled a little, and the waitress came back and placed their drinks on the table.

"Do you know what you'd like to eat, or do you need a few minutes?"

"I think we're good. Can we get the kid's chicken nuggets for her, and a Texas style grilled cheese for me?" The waitress nodded and wrote it down.

"Would you like fries with both of them?" Beca looked at Beth, who had her nose scrunched up just slightly. Beca knew Beth wouldn't speak up, so she was glad she was able to read the subtle, _very subtle_ , body language.

"Can we get the fruit cup with hers?" Beth's nose unscrunched, so Beca knew she had chosen right.

"Of course. I'll bring it out shortly." Beca double checked that the lid on Beth's plastic cup was on and handed her the straw. Beca unwrapped hers and shot it off the straw at Beth. Beth looked at Beca with a weird smile. Beca showed her how to do it by unwrapping one end of the straw and sliding it down to the end.

"Now, aim it at me, and blow really hard." There was a little puff sound, then Beca got nailed in the forehead with a straw wrapped.

"Ah! You got me!" There was a moment where they were both just staring at each other with smiles. Beca cupped Beth's cheek.

"I really like you, you know that? I want you to be part of my life. For like, ever. I'm gonna keep you safe. I promise." Beth slid over, slowly closing the space between them, and lifted Beca's arm up. She shifted into the space in Beca's side, and Beca's arm closed around her, holding her securely. Beth didn't say anything. She didn't need to. Everything Beca needed to know was in that gesture.

' _I know. I'm scared and hurt. It's hard, but I'm going to trust you.'_

They sat in content silence while they waited for their food. The waitress brought their food, and they ate together. While they were eating, Beca's phone went off.

" _Meet us for lunch? The usual? We'll be there in five."_ Beca smiled at the text from Aubrey, then her face paled. She was currently at the usual. With Beth.

" _Sorry, can't."_ She sent back, hoping to avoid the two seniors. She ignored the buzzing in her back pocket in favor of playing tic tac toe with Beth while they waited for the check.

"Oh man, you win again? Why can't I win?" Beca asked with a pout. Beth smiled a little and tallied another mark under her name for the score. It was currently 3-0, Beth in favor. Beca had earnestly tried to win after she lost the first one so easily. She wasn't even _letting_ Beth win. The waitress brought the check, and Beca handed it back with her card. Beca heard the bell on the door go off, and saw her two friends enter from the corner of her sight. They went to their usual table and sat down, and Beca thankfully went unnoticed on the other side of the restaurant. The waitress brought the receipt and her card back, and it had a phone number on it. Beca signed the receipt, and put her card in her wallet. She threw the receipt away, and grabbed Beth to leave.

"Beth, sweetie, we are going to spend the night with Hank and Sheila, is that okay?" Beth nodded hesitantly as they exited the restaurant.

"Tomorrow, we get to go paint our rooms at our new house. Do you wanna help me paint your room?" Beth nodded again, and Beca smiled. She placed Beth in the backseat, and got in herself. The drive to Hank's place was peaceful, minus the incessant buzzing of Beca's phone, but she ignored it, knowing it was most likely Chloe blowing it up with emojis expressing her disapproval of Beca not meeting with them.. When they got to Hank's place, Beca grabbed Beth on one hip, and grabbed the bags of her clothes with the other, leaving the paint in her trunk. She walked up to the front step, and realized she had no free hand.

"Beth, can you knock on the door please? Just hit it with your knuckles a few times, it's okay." Beth reached out tentatively and tapped the door three times.

"Little harder than that sweetie, they need to be able to hear it." Beth looked petrified, so Beca kicked the door three times to emphasize that it was okay. Sheila answered the door and let them in.

"See Beth? Sheila's not mad that I knocked loudly, is she?" Beth barely looked at Sheila for half a second, but Sheila answered anyway.

"I'm not mad. Maybe next time you can try, huh Beth?" Beth looked at Beca, who smiled encouragingly. She simply nodded, not taking her eyes off of Beca.

"Alright. Beca, you know where your room is." Beca nodded and made her way upstairs to the room that had been designated as hers. It was a pale blue, so it wasn't too bad. It had a queen size bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. What confused her were the boxes. And… her mixing equipment on the desk that should be in her dorm. She sighed, realizing that Hank and Sheila must have gotten her stuff from her dorm for her, and she couldn't help but be grateful, since now she didn't have to try and get it with Beth. She set Beth on her bed, which had black linens, then sat down next to her.

"Hey Beth, do you mind if we just sit together for a few minutes?" Beth shook her head with a small smile. It seemed she had much less of a problem showing her emotions when it was just her and Beca. Like Beca was the only person she trusted with them. And Beca understands that. Because she's the same way. No one, except Aubrey and Chloe, has seen her _really_ smile. And now Beth of course. But even Aubrey and Chloe haven't seen much of her yet. She still doesn't laugh, fully laugh, with them, and she hasn't sung. Beca and Beth had a lot in common, the more she thought about it. Beca scooted back and sat criss cross, opening her arms.

"It's okay if you don't want to." Beth crawled, because she has a cast on, into Beca's lap with her back to Beca's chest. Beca kissed the top of her head and took Beth's small hands in her own, noticing Beth looking at her chipped nail polish.

"You and I have a lot in common, Beth. You know how you don't like sharing your emotions with other people? I'm like that too. I don't trust people either. We're both scared to let people in because we don't know who will hurt us and who won't." Beth nodded her head and tightened her grip on Beca's hands.

"I want you to know that since you're trusting me, I'm trusting you too. And I know that we aren't related or anything, but I want us to be family. Family isn't who is related to you. It's who is there for you, who you trust and love." Beca paused to prevent herself from crying.

"And I know that neither of us have had real family before, but I think we can figure it out together. What do you say?" Beth turned around to face Beca, her watery brown eyes matching Beca's. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Beca's neck and held her tightly, Beca's wrapping around her shoulders, holding her tightly to her.

"Family," Beth said in a small voice. Beca closed her eyes and let a few tears fall, feeling a few fall onto her shoulder. They held each other for a few moments, before Beca sniffled with a small laugh.

"Alright, now that we've settled that, I wanna show you something." Beth nodded, and Beca scooped her up. She walked over to the desk and made sure all of her equipment was in order. She sat in the desk chair, Beth in her lap, and pulled the extra pair of earbuds out of her messenger bag. She plugged them into her laptop, placing one in Beth's ear and the other in her own.

"Ok, so, we're going to take this song," she said, clicking on the file named "Spoonful of Sugar." Beth nodded.

"And this song." She clicked on "For the First Time in Forever." Beth nodded again. Beca would like to let the record show that she only has that stupid song from Frozen because Chloe downloaded the album onto her laptop.

"And we can take them, and put them together." Beca quickly mashed them up. It was messy, and probably had hundreds of tiny mistakes she would notice, but Beth probably wouldn't. She layered the lyrics from Spoonful of Sugar over the music track of For the First Time in Forever. Beth looked up at Beca with awe filled eyes.

"Do you like it sweetie?" Beth nodded her head, and Beca smiled.

"I'm glad. This is what I like to do in my free time." Beth nodded again, then looked at the screen, as if she would understand what Beca was doing if she stared hard enough. She yawned suddenly, and Beca chuckled warmly.

"You tired sweetie?" Beth nodded her head nervously.

"You wanna take a nap? You can sleep in here." Beth looked between the bed and Beca for a moment.

"Stay?" She asked in a small voice.

"Of course. I won't go anywhere, except maybe the bathroom if I have to pee." Beth nodded her head, so Beca stood with her. She rifled through the bag for a pair of Beth's pajamas. She found a pair of shorts, and the matching long sleeve shirt, and set Beth on the bed. She changed Beth quickly, the shorts only getting stuck on her cast twice.

"Alright. You all set for your nap?" Beth bit her lip.

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"Bathroom," she whispered quietly.

"Oh, yeah, okay. Let's go." Beca scooped her up and walked out of her room to the bathroom across the hall. She gently set Beth down next to the toilet on her good foot.

"I'm gonna turn around, so if you need anything you can just poke me, okay?" Beth nodded, and Beca turned around. She heard shuffling as Beth went to the bathroom. She waited patiently until she was poked once. She looked down and saw Beth standing on her good leg.

"Ok, now don't touch me with those grubby hands. We gotta wash em first." Beca picked Beth up by her waist and held her up to wash her hands. When Beth finished, Beca sat her down on the counter. She pulled one of the hair ties off of her wrist and slid it onto Beth's.

"Here you go. In case you ever need it." Beth had a small smile on her face as she spun the plain black band around her wrist. Beca picked her back up and moved to the bedroom again.

"Nap time." Beca quickly settled Beth in the bed, and grabbed her laptop. She set it next to her, then sat against the headrest while Beth laid down. She was running her fingers through Beth's hair when she changed her position. Beth, very slowly, and without looking at Beca, crawled into her lap and curled up against her chest, one of her hands gripping onto Beca's shirt tightly. Beca kissed the crown of Beth's head. She began to sing softly.

" _Mother cannot guide you_

 _Now you're on your own_

 _Only me beside you_

 _Still you're not alone_

 _No one is alone, truly_

 _No one is alone_

…

…

 _Mother isn't here now_

 _Who knows what she'd say_

 _Nothing's quite so clear now_

 _Feel you've lost your way_

 _You are not alone_

 _Believe me_

 _No one is alone"_

Beca drug out the last syllable of the word "alone," and stopped singing. Her phone vibrated in her pocket again, and she sighed as she carefully took it out of her back pocket. She scanned through the plethora of messages from Chloe and Aubrey asking her why she couldn't do lunch and why she wasn't answering. She carefully moved Beth off of her and put her under the covers in the bed. She stepped outside of her bedroom with her phone and dialled Chloe's number. It rang a whole one time before it was answered by a screeching redhead.

" _Beca! Why haven't you been answering us? What's going on? Are you okay? Where are you. You're not in your dorm."_

Beca pulled the phone away from her ear as Chloe yelled.

"Yes, hello to you too Chloe. I'm guessing Bre is with you?" She asked dryly. She had heard Aubrey complain about the yelling too.

" _You're on speaker. So answer my questions!"_

"I got caught up in a new mix idea, my bad. What's up?"

" _Where are you though?"_ Aubrey asked.

"Oh, uh, I'm at Hank's."

" _Why would you be at your dad's place? I thought you hated him?"_ Chloe asked.

"Oh, uh, well… we're… trying. Ya know, spending time together or whatever." Beca paused when she heard what sounded like whimpers coming from inside the bedroom.

"Hey, I gotta go, sorry guys. I'll see you at practice Tuesday with the arrangement, alright?" She said, having absolutely no intention of going to the practice. She will just email Chloe and Aubrey the file with the arrangement an hour or so before and say she has a paper she procrastinated on writing. There is no way in hell she is bringing Beth to a Bellas practice, _or_ leaving her for two and a half hours straight.

" _Uh, yeah. I guess we'll see you Tuesday then Becs,"_ Chloe said, obviously confused by her sudden need to go.

"Bye nerds." Beca hung up the phone and went into the room, where Beth was hiding under the covers shaking.

"Beth? Beth sweetie, what's wrong?" Beca gently tugged the covers down over Beth's head to see her crying.

"Did you have a nightmare sweetie?" Beth nodded with her eyes screwed shut while she cried. Beca gathered the little girl in her arms, brushing the matted hair out of her face. Beth was _dripping_ with sweat. Beca just held her until she calmed down.

"Do you wanna tell me about it Beth?" She wiped at her own damp eyes, then looked down at Beca's lap, almost as if she were ashamed of having a nightmare. Beca had to fight a scoff at the idea.

"Was it about your parents?" Beth shook her head, then pointed at Beca.

"Me? You had a nightmare about… me?" Beca asked sadly, to which Beth nodded.

"You left me," she whispered sadly. Beca pulled Beth into her tighter. _This_ nightmare she could help with. Being left is… there is nothing to describe how it feels. You blame yourself, mostly. How could someone just toss you away like you were nothing? That's what it makes you feel like. Like you're nothing. But Beca could fight this one. She wouldn't leave Beth.

"I am _never_ leaving you. Not if I have a say, and even if I don't, I'll do everything I can to keep you anyway. Ok?" Beth gripped Beca's shirt tighter in her small hands and nodded into her chest.

"We do have something we need to talk about though, okay? Do you wanna talk about it now, or later?" Beth tapped her once, so she started talking.

"Well, I'm in school right now. I have classes during the week. So we have to figure out what to do when my classes start up again next week," she said, since Hank had gotten her the week off. Beth looked up at her, clearly panicked.

"You can stay with Sheila or Hank," she suggested. Beth shook her head immediately. Beca _almost_ voiced her agreement with that one.

"There is no way I'm getting a babysitter. I don't trust _anyone_ enough to leave you with, and that would make you uncomfortable, right?" Beth nodded. There was only one other option Beca could think of, since other people were allowed to, she can too, right? As long as she emails the teachers, it should be okay.

"Would you be okay coming to class with me? You can just sit in my lap and draw or something quiet while I take notes? You would have to be really well behaved if you want to be able to keep going though." Beth nodded then, almost instantly, and Beca smiled.

"Ok, I'll talk with my teacher's then. Now, I need to ask you something important. Remember we said we're family?" Beth nodded happily.

"Well, before we start going to my classes together, I want you to think about _how_ we are family. Do you know what I mean?" Beth nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on her face.

"You don't have to tell me now, just think about it, okay sweetie? Whatever makes you comfortable." Beth looked at her for a few moments, then she nodded again, agreeing to think about it, though Beca could _hear_ the gears spinning in the little girl's head.

"Beca? Beth? What would you girls like for dinner?" Sheila asked as she stuck her head in the door. Beca looked down at Beth, who just looked at her.

"I'm thinking pizza. What do you think sweetie?" Beth shrugged.

"What kind of pizza do you want? I like pepperoni." Beth shrugged again, so Beca assumed she had never had pizza before. There were no words to describe Beca's thoughts on that.

"You can try it with pepperoni, and if you don't like it we can take it off, that okay?" Beth nodded after a moment, so Beca looked at Sheila.

"I'll go order it then. I'll let you know when it's here."

"Thanks."

"So, do you want me to tell you about the classes I have?" Beth nodded eagerly, and Beca did her best to tell Beth about the classes she had. Which would be the required core courses, biology, algebra, and english, which went toward her minor in education. She was also taking music theory, composition, and music technologies, which were for her music major. When they finished, they went downstairs to eat dinner.

While they were eating, Beca noticed Beth eating slower and drinking more water than usual, so she made an educated guess. She silently reached over and peeled the pepperoni off of Beth's pizza, and the little girl smiled sheepishly. She ruffled Beth's hair gently, and that was that. The only time before bed Beca spent away from Beth was her five minute shower. When they were both dressed and ready for bed, Beca laid down with Beth in the bed, holding her as close as possible. Before either of them fell asleep, Beca brushed a piece of Beth's hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.

"I love you Beth." Beth's eyes went wide, and she looked up at Beca with the most beautiful toothy smile Beca has ever seen.

"I love you too," she said quietly as she snuggled impossibly closer to Beca. They both fell asleep smiling.


	4. Chapter 4-Settling InMeeting the Bellas

Chapter 4- Settling In and Meeting the Bellas

Beca woke up Saturday morning to tiny fingers gently running through her hair. She cracked an eye open, blue meeting brown, and Beca smiled.

"Morning Beth. Did you sleep alright?" Beth nodded as Beca sat up and stretched, popping her body in several places.

"Wanna go downstairs and get some breakfast?" Beth nodded, so Beca scooped her up in her arms.

"I'm thinking after breakfast, we can head over to our new apartment and start getting things set up. What do you think?"

"Our?" She asked in a small voice, as usual. Beca smiled softly and nodded her head.

"Our new home, sweetie." Beth had a small smile when she nodded. They ate cereal for breakfast, they both had a soft spot for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, they learned, after Beca had given her a bite of it and Beth found out how amazing it is. When they finished, Beca took them both upstairs to get dressed for moving and painting. She put on an old t-shirt of hers and some jean shorts, then dressed Beth in a pair of her own sleep shorts, so they were big on Beth, and an old t-shirt that fell to Beth's knees.

"Perfect for painting, right Beth?" Beth nodded, then Beca packed her laptop bag up, deciding to get the mixing equipment later. She slung her messenger bag, now with her laptop in it, over one shoulder, and put Beth on the opposite hip. The drive was spent comfortably listening to music. It was only ten minutes before they arrived at the apartment complex. Beca grabbed her messenger bag, Beth, and the bag with the two cans of paint. She walked up to the front door, and was greeted by a man at the door.

"Hello, you must be Sheila's step-daughter?" Beca winced a little at the title. No. She is _not_ their daughter. She wasn't when Hank left or when her mother died, so why would she be now? Granted they had been trying, the most Beca could ever imagine seeing them as were like an uncle and an aunt. They're not your parents, by any stretch, but they are an adult family figure you love. She _may_ be able to come to that point. Eventually.

"Uh, I'm Beca, nice to meet you."

"You too. My name is Louis. Welcome to the building you two," he said with a pleasant smile as he opened the door for her. Beca walked to the room Sheila had told her to go to, so she could meet the guy who owned the complex. She walked into a nice looking room that had the name "Mr. Fletcher" written on the door.

"Hello?" She called out. A man, who must be in his late 50's or early 60's, came into sight from a side room and smiled at her.

"You must be Ms. Mitchell. My name is Harold Fletcher. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sheila's told me a great deal about you."

"Nice to meet you. Sheila told me I could get my keys from you?"

"Ah, of course. Just one moment." He went to a filing cabinet and fished a set of keys out. The ring had two keys on it.

"Here you are. You have two keys, but it you need another, please feel free to ask."

"Beth, can you take the keys from Mr. Fletcher please?" Beth carefully took the keys from the man's hand, and he smiled at the two of them.

"Welcome to the building ladies. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thanks for this, Mr. Fletcher."

"No problem, Ms. Mitchell. Sheila is an old friend, and she explained the basics of the situation to me. Your room is on the third floor, and please, call me Harold." Beca nodded, and they left his office, headed for the elevator.

"Beth, can you hit the up arrow button?" Beth stuck her hand out and pushed the button, then again hit the number "03" button when Beca asked her to. When they arrived at the door, Beca took a deep breath.

"Are you ready Beth?" Beth nodded, so Beca taught her how to unlock the door using the key.

"Ok, stick it in that thingy above the doorknob, twist it the the left until it clicks." Beth did as Beca said, and it clicked.

"Now open the door." Beth turned the doorknob and the door swung open. Beca looked inside to see a fully furnished living room. It had a couch with an entertainment system across from it. She blinked a few times while it registered with her. She took a couple steps in, had Beth get the keys, closed the door with her foot, and started walking. She stepped into the open kitchen, and something popped, raining confetti on her and Beth. They both startled from the sound, but when Beca tightened her grip on Beth, the little girl relaxed in her grip. Beca had to fight the fuzzy feeling trying to take her over and refocus her eyes. She couldn't let that happen _now_.

"Surprise!" Hank and Sheila said together.

"You guys did this?"

"We figured we could set up the living room and the kitchen for you. We've stocked the fridge and pantry with things we know you like, and we left the bedrooms because you wanted to paint them, right?" Beca nodded as she teared up a little bit. She set the paint down and looked at Beth.

"What do you think of our new home sweetie?" Beth had a look of awe in her features. She looked at Beca and had a small smile when she nodded.

"You like it?" She nodded again.

"Are you… excited to live here with me?" Beth nodded again, her smile getting a bit bigger, then she wrapped her arms around Beca's neck. Beca kissed the top of Beth's head.

"Alright, you ready to paint?!" Beth nodded again, and Beca smiled.

"Hank and I can paint yours while you two paint Beth's?" Sheila suggested.

"That sound good to you sweetie?" Beth nodded again.

"Alright. I'll take the blue, you take the grey. It's paint and primer in one, but I'm not sure if we should do one coat or two yet."

"One should be fine," Hank said as he looked at the paint.

"Alright. Can I ask what all is in that?" She asked, flicking a thumb over her shoulder at the set up across from the couch.

"There is a TV with Google TV, a DVD player, and the TV has bluetooth setup and an HDMI cord if you want to plug your laptop directly into it." Beca nodded appreciatively at Hank's explanation.

"That's… seriously amazing guys. Thanks for that."

"It was no problem Beca. I know I wasn't there for you before… but if you'll let me, I'd like to be here for you now, both of you. I know it doesn't make up for anything, and I'm not asking for you to forget it either. Sheila and I would just like to be here for you both now, however we can." Beca nodded tearfully.

"Yeah, I think we can… we can see how his goes." Hank and Sheila smiled, and Beth frowned as she wiped away Beca's lone tear.

"It's a happy tear, sweetie. I'm just really happy that me and you are gonna get to live together." Beth smiled again and nodded her head.

"Alright, I'll set my laptop up with some music, and we can get to painting and setting this awesome new house up!"

Painting with a five year old didn't sound like the easiest task to begin with. Now, _this_ five year old made Beca believe it would be _easier_ than with just any five year old. Well, she was damn right, because, "Beth is just that awesome Hank, get over it."

Anyway, it had started peacefully. Beth sitting down, going along the baseboard that Beca taped off with a little tin of paint, while Beca started going along the taped off ceiling on the ladder. They worked like that for awhile; it was peaceful with the music playing in the background. Beth and Beca had both made their way completely around the room. It was all good, then Beth dropped her paintbrush on her shirt. It was one of Beca's pajama t-shirts, which really, who cares about? But Beth looked about ready to cry, so Beca, without thinking, drew a big line on her own shirt, then smiled at Beth.

"It's just paint sweetie. No big deal…" she trailed off as she stuck her fingers in the paint bucket next to Beth, it was one of those little ones, then wiped the blue paint on Beth's nose. Beth looked at her for a moment, then Beca did the same to herself, so Beth could see the blue streak on her nose. And she giggled. It was the most musical sound Beca had heard in awhile, so, long story short, they ended up with a lot of paint on them, and only the edges on the walls painted by the end of Saturday. Beca and Beth, mostly Beca, stand firmly by the assertion that it was a much better use of not only the paint, but their time, because that's probably one of the first times Beth has been able to do something like that. Something like _playing_. And Beca was fairly proud of herself for being the person to play with the girl. Because like she said, she and Beth have a lot in common.

Needless to say, Saturday, after they cleaned up and had dinner, Beca and Beth had to go to Home Depot to get more paint. Beca had just told Beth it was worth it with a wink, and it earned her a cute smile, so yeah, it was worth it.

By Sunday afternoon, they had successfully painted both rooms, and set up mattresses and gotten their clothes moved in. Beth's room had a nightstand with a lamp, and had a nightlight plugged into the wall, and Beca's room had all her mixing stuff set up in the corner. The kitchen was stocked to both Beth and Beca's tastes, the bathrooms were ready to go, and they had officially moved in. Sunday night, Beca and Beth had a celebratory dinner together in their new house. They were sitting at the dining room table with Beth in Beca's lap rather than a chair by herself.

"A toast," Beca said, holding her cup of Coke up and waiting for Beth to hold up her chocolate milk.

"To family, and new beginnings, right?" Beth nodded with a smile and tapped her glass to Beca's lightly.

When Tuesday morning rolled around, Beca sent the email to Aubrey and Chloe saying she was slammed with work, which wasn't a lie, and promptly ignored her ringing phone. She had taken to working with Beth though, so it made her more motivated. She had gotten a few basic educational books for her to learn how to write the alphabet, simple counting and basic math, and a few children's books that they read one chapter of every night before bed, to help improve Beth's reading and vocabulary, but it was mostly because it's what Beca had wanted as a kid. She wished she had had a parent, or even a parental figure, to curl up with under a fuzzy blanket and be read to, but she never had that. Beca is actively doing everything she can to prevent Beth's remaining childhood from being _any more_ similar to hers. Plus, Beth likes it when Beca reads to her, and Beca can't think of anything she wouldn't do for her.

Sleeping, however, was a mess. Beca had compromised with Beth that she had to _try_ to sleep in her own room. Beca would stay up because, obviously, it wasn't long before Beth would have a nightmare. In the past three nights, the record was 10 minutes before Beca went in to wake her and bring her into the master with her. The fastest was two minutes.

Monday, Beca had talked with a social worker over the phone about Beth. The social worker asked her a lot of questions. Why do you want to be a parent, what makes you think you would be a suitable parent at your age, the phone number for her therapist she sees every other week, address, what her plans were for a career, if she was sure she was financially secure. At the end of the call, Beca was both completely wracked with nerves and a little apprehensive. They asked a lot of questions, and some of her answers probably weren't what they were looking for. When Beth had finally fallen asleep, Beca had gone into the master and turned on the shower.

She ended up staying in the shower for two hours, the water lukewarm the entire time. Turns out Beca's fears and worries about not being able to take care of Beth, or not even being given custody rights, had gotten to her. She had dissociated in the shower, lost in her thoughts, her body succumbing to the rhythmic patterning of the water hitting her skin. When she finally got out, she had spent the entire night awake, alternating between watching Beth sleep and mixing, trying to distract herself from her overactive mind.

By Tuesday, Beth had worked through the entire writing booklet, and was already on the math one. She was certainly working faster than Beca was. She had been given the writing assignment in an email Saturday and was only a quarter through it. It was just assigned, but she had Beth pick the order to do all of her week's assignments in, and she chose English first. Beca resents that choice, because she is currently trying to analyze fucking Shakespeare, and it's hurting her brain. Beca was broken from her thoughts when her phone rang. Again. She considered ignoring it, again, but it's not like she was getting anywhere with her paper, so she just answered it without looking, already knowing who would be on the other line.

"Hello?" She answered absently.

" _Rebeca Avery Mitchell. Where are you?"_ Beca scowled at the use of her middle name, but didn't comment. She figured it was warranted with how she had been avoiding them recently. The only reason, _only reason_ , they know her middle name is because Chloe stole, yes _stole_ , her driver's license to find it.

"I'm writing my paper?"

" _I said where, Mitchell."_ Beca sighed. Aubrey was a very stubborn woman.

"I'm at home. Why?"

" _Because we need you to help us make the arrangement actually work with the girls, and Chloe and I cannot find you anywhere. I checked your dorm, which you failed to mention you moved out of,_ and _Chloe checked your dad's place, so wherev-"_

"How does she know where Hank lives?"

" _That's not important. We need you, Becs. And… we're a little worried. We have no idea where you disappeared to, and all of a sudden you don't live in your dorm or with your dad? You know you can talk to us, right?"_ Beca sighed.

"I know that Bre."

" _Ok, well, where are you?"_ She asked carefully. Beca bit her lip, then glanced at Beth, who was peacefully working on her addition problems. Her tongue peaked through her lips, perched between her teeth, and it was absolutely adorable.

"I'm… at home, like I said. I… got an apartment."

" _You… got an apartment. On your own. As a college student,"_ she said slowly, her confusion evident. She was glad she was speaking to Aubrey right now as opposed to Chloe, because Aubrey would be much quieter about it, at least. She certainly wouldn't be _calmer_ , but Beca wouldn't have to deal with squealing or shrieking.

"Uh, yeah. It's a 2/2. I'm… I'm really happy with it, Bre," she said softly, looking at Beth with a smile.

" _And… you didn't think you could tell me or Chlo about it?"_ There was pain in the blonde's voice that killed Beca to hear. She sighed again. Beca got out of her seat and sat next to Beth, taking a pencil and writing on a blank sheet of paper.

"Look Bre, it's… It's complicated. It's not about you guys or whatever, okay? Is that all you were calling for? Because I really am writing a paper right now." Beca heard Aubrey say something about manners in the background. She saw Beth slowly writing her response to her question. She had learned so quickly how to write, though not all of her response was spelled correctly, it was close enough phonetically for Beca to know what she meant, and gently showed her how to correctly spell them with a scrunched up nose, so that Beth didn't take it hard, which she didn't. She just studied the word, then wrote it again on her own with the proper spelling. She had such curly, adorable little handwriting.

" _Becs! Finally! Are you sure you can't come to practice?"_ She could feel Chloe's energy in her words, and it made rejecting going to practice just… so much harder. All Beca had to do was look at Beth, who was looking up at her now, and she could make her decision. Because no matter how much she likes Chloe and Aubrey, Beth _will_ come first.

"I don't know if I can come, Chlo." She smiled brightly at Beth's answer. Then wrote another question, which the girl nodded to hesitantly. Beca smiled softly and kissed her forehead, then mouth an "I love you," which earned her a small smile.

" _Bre and I could meet you for lunch after practice?"_ She asked hopefully. Beca sighed and looked at Beth.

"I'll let you know, okay?" Beca could _hear_ Chloe's pout.

" _Okay. Talk to you soon."_ The line clicked, and Beca looked back to Beth.

"So, you're sure about… wanting me as your mom?" Beth nodded, and Beca teared up. She hugged Beth to her tightly.

"I love you, Beth."

"I love you too," she whispered, making Beca's heart swell.

"Did you hear me talking to my friend?" Beth nodded.

"Well, my friends Aubrey and Chloe run a singing group." Beth pointed at her.

"No sweetie, I'm not in it. I'm helping them though. They want to meet me for lunch in a little while." Beth looked at her for a moment. Beth bit her lip in contemplation.

"Sheila?" Beth asked quietly.

"You want to stay with Sheila while I go?" Beca asked, completely taken aback. Beth ducked her head.

"Or is it that you're scared to meet Aubrey and Chloe?" Beth nodded.

"I don't have to go."

"It's okay," Beth said quietly. Beca bit her lip. She had to start trying to acclimate Beth to being around other people.

"I promise I won't stay gone too long, okay? Aaaaand you can bring Repa with you," Beca said, referring to her own stuffed red panda, hence the name re-pa. Beth's eyes lit up.

"I'm serious. Repa was my friend when I was your age. She helped me be strong when I was scared, so now she can do it for you when I'm not there. Okay?" Beth nodded happily, then hugged Beca.

"I love you," she whispered. That was very quickly becoming Beca's favorite thing to hear, and she's not sure it would ever change.

"I love you too baby girl."

It had taken Beca 15 minutes to actually leave Beth with Sheila Tuesday afternoon. She walked into the family restaurant and spotted the two seniors sitting at the booth. Usually the two rotated sitting with Beca, but today they were the on the same side. Beca slid into the booth opposite them and greeted them.

"Hey nerds."

"Hey Becs!" Chloe greeted with a mega watt smile, though Beca could see something was off. Aubrey's brows furrowed when she sat down.

"Are you okay Beca? You look a little… run down?"

"I haven't been sleeping too well lately. No biggie," she said with a shrug. There was a moment after that where they all scrutinized each other. Beca was taking in the nerves that were _pouring_ off of the seniors, and the two of them were taking in Beca's run down appearance. She seemed more tired, but clearly… happier? She seemed like she was genuinely happier, like her dark broody cloud had moved away, and Beca was finally getting the sun. A waitress came up before any of them spoke.

"A white chocolate frappuccino for her, a chai tea latte for her, and a black coffee for me please," Beca said, ordering for Chloe and Aubrey in turn.

"Alright.I'll bring those right out." Beca gave her a smile.

"Thanks." She turned back to the two girls, who were eyeing her. She cocked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"It's… you seem really… happy. Like… I don't know. It's like your whole aura changed." Beca simply shrugged at the redhead's words. They wouldn't understand how finding Beth could have made her so… happy. She finally felt like all her pain could be used to help someone. It… being around Beth, seeing her so strong and brave… it was making Beca strong and brave.

"Something wrong with me being happy?"

"Of course not, Beca. We're glad you're happy, we just… we're wondering why? Is there… is there a boy?" Beca mentally face palmed.

"Ah shit," she sighed under her breath. She noticed both Chloe and Aubrey heard her. She shifted uneasily. Her hands began to shake she became so nervous. She had never told anyone she was gay. No one. And it was psyching her out a little.

"Beca? Are you okay?" Aubrey asked worriedly. Beca nodded her head, then pulled her phone out. She just sent them both a text. It read "GAY," in all caps. The two seniors' phones chimed, and they checked them. Realization dawned on them.

"Is that what just got you so worked up? Beca, sweetie, neither of us are straight." Beca's head snapped up at Chloe's words.

"Huh?" Aubrey shook her head.

"I'm bi, Chloe's gay." Beca nodded, then sighed in relief.

"Beca, we wouldn't have reacted poorly even if we were both straight. You know that right?" Aubrey asked softly. Beca shrugged again.

"I… I've never told anyone that before," she whispered. Aubrey and Chloe's eyes widened with understanding.

"Thank you for telling us Beca. That means a lot," Chloe said. Beca nodded, then the waitress brought their drinks. Beca thanked her as she set them down.

"Actually Beca… there was something we wanted to talk to you about." Beca looked up at Aubrey, who had spoken, and nodded.

"You see, Chloe and I were talking, and… we both came to some… realizations." Chloe nodded her agreement. Beca narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering where this was going.

"You see, Chloe and I… well… we both like you." Beca's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Beca… Aubrey and I both _like_ you." Beca looked at Chloe, then back at Aubrey. She blinked a couple times. She sighed heavily and rested her forehead on the table, laughing humorlessly. Because of course _after_ she decided to adopt a child they confess to her. When she stopped laughing, she sat back up, a sad smile on her face. The two seniors looked worried.

"Beca do… do you feel the same way?" Aubrey asked slowly. Beca sighed.

"I can't… I can't do this." They both looked at her confusedly.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked with tears in her eyes. Beca bit her lip, not sure what she wanted to share just yet. She took her phone from her pocket. She refused to be ashamed of Beth, or her decision to have taken her in. Because that little girl is the best thing she's ever had in her life, and she's pretty proud of her little girl. She opened her camera roll and selected a picture of her and Beth she had taken when they were covered in paint. She showed the seniors her phone.

"Her name's Beth. She's five." Aubrey and Chloe looked confused as they handed the phone back.

"You… you have a child?" Aubrey asked, hurt clear in her voice at the thought of Beca having hidden a five year old child from them. Beca shook her head.

"I… I only have temporary custody of her."

"What do you mean?"

"She's not mine, biologically." Both Chloe and Aubrey only became more confused.

"I'm in the process of adopting her." There were several beats of silence.

"I found her Thursday after my shift. She was… she was in really… rough shape, guys. She had run away from home," Beca said quietly, looking down at her lap.

"Her parents, if you want to call them that, they've been beating her her entire life. That's why she ran away from home Thursday. She hadn't eaten in a few days, had a broken leg, cut open head. It… it was awful." There were a few more moments of silence.

"Beca… I understand wanting to help her, but-"

"No. No, you don't understand it, Aubrey," she snapped angrily. The two seniors were surprised by that.

"You have _no_ idea what that little girl went through. Having her _own parents_ put their hands on her? To be treated like she was… _nothing_? You have _no_ idea what that's like. It is the worst fucking feeling in the world. So don't you dare tell me that I'm making a mistake by taking her in. Because that girl is the only good thing I have ever had in my life besides you two. She is smart, polite, and caring, and I love her. She's making me better in ways that you wouldn't understand. So don't you dare say that you understand, because you have no clue what _the fuck_ you're talking about, Aubrey." Beca's fists were white knuckling her jeans, and her jaw clenched tight when she finished. Aubrey and Chloe sat there, completely flabbergasted by the anger radiating off of their friend, both in her tone and in her posture.

"Beca… how do you know what she feels like?" Chloe asked slowly. Beca averted her eyes and didn't answer, but the anger she had dissipated just as quickly as it came.

"Beca, please answer me."

"I am doing everything I can to make sure that Beth has someone in her life who loves her. I'm making sure that she gets the childhood she deserves. Because I love her, and that's what family is supposed to do." Aubrey and Chloe had softened quite a bit while Beca was speaking, and thankfully they dropped the question she hadn't answered.

"So… you're saying you won't try to have a relationship with us because-"

"I'm a mother, Chlo," Beca said with a smile, interrupting Chloe.

"Why exactly does that mean you can't try this with us?" She asked. Beca looked at her like she was crazy.

"I… I don't know if you heard me, just then. I now come with child. One that is fairly codependant on me, might I add. She can hardly speak to me sometimes, and definitely not with strangers. So that means I can't go out without her almost ever. This is the first time since Thursday that I've left her for longer than a shower. I need to focus on her. I'm not staying out late, not going to go on regular date nights, can't randomly see you guys, at my place or elsewhere, and anything physical would be pretty much off limits because Beth sleeps with me most nights."

"And if Chloe and I were okay with that?" Beca cocked an eyebrow.

"Then I don't know. But you can't just decide that you're okay with this in an instant. Think about it. If you still think you want to try something, then I'll talk to Beth about meeting you. Her opinion is going to be a huge factor. She… she has to come first. She _will_ come first." Both Aubrey and Chloe nodded.

"We can do that." Beca nodded, then her phone rang. It was Sheila, so she answered it with a sorry look thrown to Aubrey and Chloe. Beca stayed in her seat when she answered.

"Hello?"

" _Thank god. Beth isn't doing so well without you. I'm gonna give her the phone, okay?"_

"Of course." Beca heard rustling, then heard light sniffles.

"Beth? Sweetie?" Beth sniffled quietly into the phone.

"Hey, hey now. Are you upset because I'm gone?"

" _I'm scared."_

"Baby girl, do me a favor. Get Repa." Beca waited while she heard movement.

" _She has her,"_ came Sheila's voice, obviously the phone was on speaker.

"Okay, hold her to your chest really tight, okay? Pretend she's me. Hug me really tight sweetie." Beca took a deep breath, then sang Lego House softly. It was the song Beca sang her to sleep with; it did wonders for calming her down. When Beca finished the chorus, she heard the phone get picked up.

" _She fell asleep. I'm not going to move her, I'm afraid I'll wake her up."_

"Yeah, not a good idea. She usually has nightmares, so if she starts moving around just run your fingers through her hair. It will do until I can get there."

" _Alright. When are you coming back?"_

"I'm headed back soon," Beca said, finally glancing back up at the seniors, who had shocked expressions.

" _Okay. I'll see you soon."_

"Bye Sheila." Beca hung up, then looked at the two girls across from her.

"You can sing!" Beca shrugged.

"I'm okay."

"Okay? If you're okay, Chloe and I sound like crap." Beca blushed.

"I totally don't get why you didn't audition for the Bellas," Chloe said, clearly upset. Beca ran a hand through her hair nervously.

"I… I'm stage fright," she said quickly, not wanting to tell them that she has anxiety. She closed her eyes, half expecting them to laugh.

"I get that. It's a bit… overwhelming. Performing on stage," Aubrey said. Beca snorted.

"Yeah, yeah a little bit."

"You're really amazing with her Becs. I can tell already," Chloe said sincerely.

"Thanks, Chlo."

"Who is Repa?" Aubrey asked amusedly. Beca blushed again as she answered.

"Uh…it's a stuffed animal I had as a kid. It's a red panda." Chloe giggled softly.

"Anyway, I need to go. Beth isn't doing very well without me apparently. I'll… see you guys later," she said unsurely. Both seniors smiled reassuringly and stood with her.

"Of course you will. If you need anything, let us know." Chloe nodded her agreement, and Beca hugged both of them goodbye, then left.

It took Beca 10 minutes to get to Sheila and Hank's place, traffic laws be damned! She didn't even knock on the door before Sheila opened with door with a relieved expression.

"Hey. She's alright. Still asleep, thankfully." Beca nodded. She knows Beth needs to learn to be around people who aren't her, but it doesn't stop her from worrying. She had been gone a total of an hour, and she was proud of Beth for being so strong. Beca moved into the living room and smiled softly. Beth was cuddling Repa while she slept on the couch. Beca quickly took a picture of the girl who, for once, was sleeping serenely. She carefully scooped Beth up bridal style so she could bring her home. Beth stirred slightly, just enough to latch one of her hands in Beca's shirt.

"Thanks for watching her Sheila," Beca said quietly.

"No problem. Call if you need anything." Beca nodded, then went to put Beth in the car. She turned the radio on quietly and drove them home. She carried Beth inside and placed her in her bed with the nightlight on. Once Beca made sure that she was tucked under the doggy comforter with Repa, she left Beth's room and made her way to her own bedroom. She sat down at her desk and started composing emails and sending them. She was very briefly explaining her situation to her teachers to make sure it was okay that she brought Beth with her to classes next week when she returned.

When she finished, it only took her half an hour, she got up and checked on Beth. When Beca peaked inside, Beth was just sitting up, rubbing at her eyes with one hand while the other clutched Repa to her chest. Beca padded into the room and sat down next to Beth. She brushed some of Beth's hair out of her face.

"Hey there sleeping beauty. Did you have a good nap?" Beth nodded, then crawled into Beca's lap. Beca kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks for letting me see my friends, sweetie. I had fun." Beth looked up at her.

"I had fun, but… I think I'd rather have been with you." Beth buried her face back in Beca's neck. Beca sat there for a few minutes before she spoke again.

"My friends want me to go to their practice Thursday." Beth looked up at her.

"Can I come?" Beca looked at her softly. Beth was really a smart girl. And it turns out that Beca's original judgement had been correct, she does have a great grasp on the language.

"If you want to come with me, we can go together. If you don't want to go, I'm not gonna go. I don't want to go two and a half hours without you."

"I'll go." Beca smiled and kissed Beth's head.

"Okay. We'll go together."

Beca was currently standing outside the auditorium holding Beth on her hip with her messenger bag over her other shoulder. She was wearing skinny jeans, a black tank top, and a light purple flannel with her black Converse. Beth had on a pair of jean shorts, a t-shirt with "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" written on it in swirly font, and one black Converse with blue laces. Beca had painted Beth's nails black, at her request. Beca had also texted Chloe beforehand.

" _Is it okay if I bring Beth with me to practice?"_

" _ **Of course! I can't wait to meet her!"**_

Now that she was actually standing in front of the double doors with a five year old child on her hip, she wasn't so sure. Suddenly, Beth gave her a thumbs up with a tiny nervous smile, and that was all she needed. If Beth could be brave, then she could be too, for both of them. Beca pulled open the door with a deep breath.

A few girls had looked up when the door opened, and were currently gaping at Beca and Beth, then promptly hit whoever was closest to them so they saw it too. The only two who hadn't noticed were Aubrey and Chloe, who were at the piano discussing who knows what. Beca strode over to them confidently, Beth having buried her face in Beca's neck at the attention. Beca cleared her throat behind Aubrey and Chloe, who spun around. Their faces were priceless. Beca decided that no one was going to ask her any questions, because she didn't feel like talking about Beth with her literally right there. She also wasn't comfortable sharing the situation with everyone; it's Beth's life, not some story Beca can just share with anyone she wants to.

"Hey, I'm here," was all she said as she took her seat with Beth in her lap. She opened her laptop and pulled up the arrangement. This is what she always did when she came to the practices, only this time, she has Beth with her. She looked up at the room full of flabbergasted women.

"Uh, short stack? Who's the kid?" Amy asked. Beca simply glared at her before returning to the arrangement. Her glare was… _nasty_. She only used half power, but no one had the guts to press her again after that. She plugged some ear buds in, putting one in her ear and the other in Beth's. She started working, and everyone seemed to get that she wasn't talking about it. Aubrey quickly started practice, respecting that Beca didn't want to overload Beth. Beca let the arrangement play one full time for Beth to hear, and when she got a nod and tiny, almost unnoticeable, smile of approval, plugged them into her phone so Beth could play the new spelling app Beca had gotten. There really _is_ an app for everything. She took her headphones out and put one cup on while she worked. She watched Beth and herself work, and noticed, yet again, how incredibly smart she is. She just spelled the word "pineapple" correctly. And she just learned to write over the past three days.

About 15 minutes into the practice, Aubrey began cardio, and Beth had looked up at Beca. She spoke to Beth, not noticing that _right_ when she opened her mouth, all of the Bellas' eyes fell onto the pair, the cardio completely forgotten.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Beth held the phone up with a small frown. She was trying to spell the word fantastic, but she put a 'k' at the end.

"Think about the ending sound. Is there any other way to make that sound than with 'ck'?" Beth looked at it, took the 'k' off, and got it right.

"See, Ms. Smarty Pants. I'm so proud of you," she said with an affectionate kiss to the crown of Beth's head. It would be then that Beca noticed a definite _lack_ of footfalls, and looked up at the Bellas.

"Aubrey this is a great new routine you guys have got. Really got the 'drop my f- _jaw_ to the floor' down pat." She had stopped herself from cursing, adding emphasis to the word 'jaw' instead. Everyone blinked at her distinct _lack_ of the use of the "f" word.

"Beca, we… we're not trying to be rude or anything. We're just… taken aback by… well, the girl in your lap," Aubrey said carefully, earning several nods of agreement, minus Chloe who winked.

"I told Chloe I was bringing her with me. She told me it wouldn't be a problem." All eyes turned to Chloe, then.

"It's not a problem. She's not disrupting anything," Chloe said evenly. Beth looked up at Beca sadly then.

"She's disrupting my focus!" Amy yelled indignantly. Beth had tensed at the raised voice, and Beca sprang into Angry Mama Bear instantly.

"Stop yelling. I will _not_ let you yell around _my_ daughter," she said with an eerily calm yet angry tone. She saw Beth's eyes light up when she claimed her as 'her daughter,' but the rest of her features remained emotionless for the most part. Beth turned her body to face Beca, so her back was to the Bellas, and curled into her. Beca noticed she was shaking slightly then.

"I'm here sweetie, I'm not going anywhere," she said quietly as she gently rubbed Beth's back. No one seemed to have anything to say to that. Beca was glad that they at least weren't yelling and interrogating her. Stacie was the first to collect herself, since Aubrey and Chloe trying to keep the girls semi quiet. The leggy brunette approached them slowly, and Beca looked up at her. Stacie calmly knelt to Beca's right so Beth could see her.

"Hi, I'm Stacie, one of Beca's friends. We didn't mean to scare you, we're just a little confused." Beth didn't respond, to Stacie or to Beca. She shook her head apologetically at Stacie, who nodded understandingly as she moved back to the group. Chloe walked up next. She was standing about one stride in front of Beca, the curiosity written over her features.

"Hey sweetie, I'm Chloe, Beca's friend. I'm sorry about the yelling." Beth had calmed down significantly since Beca had started cradling her, and looked up to Beca, who smiled softly as she brushed some hair out of Beth's face.

"You're okay, I'm right here," she said again. Beth turned a little so she was sideways in Beca's lap, both of her hands still gripping Beca's shirt for safety. Her eyes stayed glued to the ground.

"Chloe, this is my daughter Beth. Can you say hi to Chloe, sweetie?" Beth glanced at Chloe, then timidly waved one hand at her, it going right back to gripping Beca's shirt. Chloe smiled brightly and waved back.

"It's good to meet you, Beth. This is our friend Aubrey," she said, gesturing the blonde to approach. She did, and knelt in front of Beca next to Chloe, who had crouched down to be more eye level with the girl..

"Hi Beth. I'm Aubrey, but you can call me Bre." The little girl offered a small nod.

"I'm so proud of you Beth," she whispered into her hair. Beca nodded at the seniors, who resumed practice then. Everything was going great. The practice went smoothly, Beca having helped instruct the girls how to do the arrangement. It was perfectly fine until the end. Beth was sitting on the bleachers, slumped over asleep, and Beca was packing her things up. There were a few girls to her right who were packing their things as well. Beca's eyes went wide as she heard the all too familiar sound of a leather belt being pulled off. That was one of her triggers. Really? She just _had_ to take off a belt? Beca's body went rigid as she was suddenly locked in a flashback of something she didn't want to remember.

 _Beca knelt in the center of her room, waiting like she was told to. The door opened, and_ she _padded into the room._

" _I told you. I_ told _you, Rebeca!"_ _Beca just nodded._

" _I guess you just don't remember, do you? I'll just have to punish you, since you refuse to listen to me." Beca heard the tell tale sound of her leather belt being slipped off. Beca was confused when it didn't hit the floor, but then it did. But… it was heavier than usual… oh no._

" _Please, not the buckle," she whimpered out. The woman moved at her with a raised hand, belt clenched tightly, and not by the buckle. The buckle hit Beca in the right shoulder, leaving a two inch long laceration in the skin. Beca's body fell to the side with the force of the blow. She wrapped her arms around herself futilely. The buckle fell again, this time in the right side of her abdomen._

" _Please stop," she whimpered. It fell again, hitting her right elbow. Only this time, it didn't just leave a cut. Beca heard a nasty crunch that came with a sickening pain, causing her to cry in pain._

" _Stop! Please!" She was rolled onto her back by a rough shove from the woman's foot. She looked at Beca with distaste._

" _And just why should I listen to you? You don't listen to me, so why should I listen to you?" With that, the foot that had rolled her over fell onto her chest, knocking the wind out of her. The woman pushed the heel of her stiletto into Beca's sternum._

" _Tell me you're sorry."_

" _I'm sorry ma'am," she said, not forgetting the woman's title._

" _Sorry for what?" she asked, twisting the heel on Beca's chest._

" _I'm sorry for missing class. And for making you look bad. And for not listening to you. I promise, I'll be better. I'll be better. I'll be better. I'll be better-"_

"Beca!" Beca snapped her head up.

"Yeah?" She asked, hoping she could pass it off as nothing. She looked into Aubrey's concerned gaze and gave a weak smile.

"You spaced out and kept muttering under your breath. Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. Beca noticed that everyone but Chloe and Aubrey had cleared out.

"Yeah, I'm good. What did I say?"

"You just kept saying that… you'd be better?" Chloe said, voicing her concern as well. Beca shrugged.

"Not sure. I was thinking about a mix." Aubrey eyed Beca for a moment. She clearly didn't believe Beca's lie. Having a friend who is a med major has it's downsides sometimes. Beca smiled weakly at her friends as she gathered her sleeping daughter in her arms, resting Beth's head on her shoulder.

"So, you moved into an apartment," Chloe said, trying, and failing, to hide the hurt in her voice.

"Yeah, just this weekend. To be able to get Beth placed into my custody I had to have a place of residence. It's nice. I never really… had a place to call home before and… and now I do. It's… it's really nice," she said with a shrug. She was trying to share things about herself with them, but it was hard. Her therapist says that… Oh shit, her therapist! She has an appointment this week, and she totally forgot! She was so focused on getting this week off from work and school and taking care of Beth that she forgot about her bi weekly appointments.

"Hey are you guys free?" Beca asked before either of them could ask what she meant by what she had just said. It was close to five, so it was about time for dinner.

"Yeah, why? You wanna do something?" Chloe asked hopefully.

"Well, if you guys wanna come by our place that's cool. I think it'd be good if… ya know, you guys and Beth spent more time together or whatever," she muttered the last sentence, but Chloe had on that megawatt smile, and Aubrey had one of her own that Beca had _rarely_ seen. Maybe… once before.

"We'd love to spend time with you and Beth, Beca. If you text us the address, we'll go shower and change and bring pizza in like half an hour?" Aubrey suggested.

"That sounds great, thanks Bre. Can you switch my half to cheese though? I'll split it with Beth." Aubrey smiled softly at her.

"Of course. We'll see you in half an hour then." They parted ways, Beca buckling the still asleep Beth into the backseat and driving them home. When she got home, Beth had woken up, so she settled her in the living room with a coloring book and some TV.

"Sweetie, my friends are gonna come over with some pizza. Is that okay?" Beth looked up at her, and Beca could tell she was worried about how many friends it was gonna be.

"It's just Bre and Chloe."

"The pretty ones?" Beth asked. Beca chuckled.

"Yes, sweetie, the pretty ones." Beth nodded hesitantly, then and went back to her coloring. Beca stood and went into the kitchen so she could make her call and still see Beth. It rang four times.

" _Hello, hello!"_ Came the woman's always excited voice.

"Hey Doctor Taylor, it's Beca."

" _Beca! How is my favorite patient?"_

"I'm… I'm actually doing really well. But, uh, something happened this weekend that I need to talk to you about before I come in tomorrow."

" _Of course. What's going on?"_ She asked, the mirth having left her tone.

"I, uh… kids are… allowed to come, right?" There were a few beats of silence.

" _Well, yes. Will you be… bringing one with you tomorrow?"_

"I… I actually will, yeah. Spark Notes version is that I'm adopting her. Her parents… she's been through things that I understand, okay? And I couldn't… I couldn't let her go in the system, Hannah, you know that."

" _So, let me get this right, you are adopting a child."_

"Yes."

" _And how did you meet her?"_

"Her name is Beth. I… I found her outside my work. Her parents were a lot like… a lot like Lucy. I can't… she's just so amazing and she didn't deserve the things they did to her. But… god, I love that little girl so much Hannah. She's… she's my baby girl," Beca offered as an explanation.

" _This… this is amazing, Beca. I can already hear the positive effect Beth is having on you, and I'm sure the same can be said for her about you. Now, we can talk about this more tomorrow. I'll let you get back to her. See you tomorrow Beca!"_

"See ya tomorrow, Dr. Taylor." Beca hung up just in time for her doorbell to ring. She sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon.


	5. Chapter 5- Beca's Appointment

Chapter 5- Beca's Appointment

Beca walked out of the kitchen and saw Beth staring at the door with wide, worried eyes. She detoured to the girl and scooped her up sideways, causing the girl to giggle.

"Hello princess," Beca said with a big smile.

"Hi," she said quietly through her giggles.

"I have an idea. Why don't you climb on my back, that way I can have my hands _and_ carry you." Beth nodded shyly, then Beca set her on the couch and bent down. Beth climbed onto her back, wrapping her arms around her neck, and gripping her sides with her tiny legs. Beca reached behind her and put her right arm below Beth, letting her rest some of her weight on the arm, then moved toward the door. She opened it to reveal Chloe and Aubrey standing in jean shorts, jeans, and t-shirts, respectively.

"Hey. Thanks for the pizza," she said as she opened the door for them to come in. Beca felt Beth tighten her grip just a little bit and bury her face in her hair. She put her left hand over Beth's, running her thumb gently over Beth's fingers. She led the seniors to the living room.

"You guys can sit. I'll get some napkins and stuff." She went into the kitchen and grabbed napkins, four paper plates, as well as drinks for the four of them. She somehow managed to balance all of the things in her one free arm and brought them into the living room. She handed Aubrey and Chloe each a Pepsi, the _heathens_ preferred it to Coke, only people from the south would. She put the plates on the coffee table with her Coke and Beth's carton of chocolate milk.

"Beth, do you wanna sit with me or on your own?" Beth's arms tightened around her, so she took it as a 'with you.'

"Alright, step onto the chair real quick sweetie." Beth stepped onto the chair, and Beca spun around and picked her up. She sat in the office chair, placing Beth in her lap, then handed Beth the milk and a piece of the cheese pizza, grabbing two for herself, while the two seniors ate the nasty deluxe garbage.

"Beth? Can you say hi to my friends?" She asked softly. Beth locked her eyes on her plate as she spoke quietly.

"Hi."

"Hi. Thanks for letting us come over Beth," Chloe said with a smile. She nodded once, then picked her pizza back up. Beca brushed a piece of Beth's hair behind her ear and kissed her temple, whispering an I love you. When they finished eating, Beth yawned

"Are you tired, Beth?" She cooed, running her knuckles over Beth's cheek. She nodded, burrowing into Beca's shoulder.

"Alright. Let's get you ready for bed. I'll be about 20. You guys cool?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Go ahead," Aubrey said. Beca took Beth to the bathroom first. She sat Beth on the toilet and ran the bath, then went into the girl's bedroom and picked out her favorite pajamas. She brought them into the bathroom and knelt in front of Beth.

"You okay?" Beth nodded, but Beca didn't buy it.

"Are you scared?" Beth shook her head, bouncing her brown curls.

"Okay, do you like them?" Beth nodded slowly as tears welled up in her eyes. Beca scooped her off the toilet and sat against the wall, cradling her to her chest.

"Hey, hey, I'm here. What's going on, huh?" She asked, wiping Beth's tears with her thumbs.

"You're gonna leave me for them." Beca's heart broke at the resignation in Beth's voice.

"Elizabeth Marie, I could never leave you," Beca said with conviction. The use of her proper name caused Beth to look up, the shock, and a bit of fear, evident on her face.

"I love you too much, Beth. No one could do anything to make me want to leave you. _No one_. Not Hank, not Shelia, not Chloe or Aubrey. The president could come tell me he wants to see me, and I'd _still_ rather be with you, okay?" Beth nodded as a few more tears fell, and Beca kissed her forehead.

"I love you," Beth said quietly.

"I love you more sweetie." They sat there for a few minutes before Beth looked back up at her.

"Bath time?"

"Oh yeah, bath time." Beca slid a plastic bag over Beth's leg, then set her in the bath. She had only filled it up halfway, so the top of the bag wasn't submerged. Beca used the plastic cup and used it to wash Beth gently. She finished ten minutes and several bubble beards later. She took the bag off of Beth's leg and swaddled her in a big fluffy towel. She helped Beth slip into her black polka dot pajamas, then picked her up, letting Beth towel dry her own hair. They walked into the kitchen, and Beca got her a small bowl of coffee ice cream.

"I'll trade you. Towel for ice cream." Beth handed Beca the towel and took the bowl. They rejoined Chloe and Aubrey then, and Beca set Beth on the floor in front of her so she could dry her hair for her. Beca noticed that Beth kept glancing towards Chloe. She took a guess as to what she was looking at and hoped she was right.

"Hey Beth, when I'm done drying your hair, do you want Chloe to braid it for you?" Beth looked up at Beca with wide eyes. Beca could tell that Beth wanted to, but it scared her.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind; would you Chlo?" Chloe smiled at the brunettes brightly.

"I would love to braid your hair!" Beth gave her a small smile.

"Alright, all dry. I'll go grab your hairbrush and a tie, okay princess?" When Beth gave her a small nod, Beca went to retrieve the items and put the towel in the hamper. When she came back, she found Chloe in the chair she had previously been in, gently running her fingers through Beth's hair.

"So, is Beca your mom, Beth?" Beca was positioned so she could see and hear them, but they couldn't exactly see her. She saw Beth nod twice and smile, bringing a smile to her own face. She was unbelievably proud that Beth was comfortable telling others that she's her mom.

"Is she a good mom?" Aubrey asked. Beth nodded twice more.

"Do you love your mom?" Chloe asked. Beth nodded again, her smile growing a little with each question. Aubrey and Chloe smiled softly at the little girl, and it made Beca swoon a little, not that she swoons. Nope. Beca took the break as an opportunity to come back in.

"Here, Chlo," she said, extending the blue hairbrush and black hair tie to the redhead. She took them and began brushing Beth's hair. Beca dropped, literally, onto the couch next to Aubrey. She felt the blonde wrap an arm around her, and she only tensed for a few seconds. She rested her head against the blonde's shoulder with a sigh. They sat there for a few minutes while Chloe was working, then Beth looked at her when she finished eating.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Sing?" Beca got up off the couch and sat on the floor in front of Beth, who was looking up at her with big nervous eyes. Beca kissed her forehead.

"Bedtime song?" Beth nodded slightly, trying not to move her head too much while Chloe was working.

"Anything for you," she said, poking Beth's nose lightly as Chloe flipped the braided hair over Beth's shoulder.

"All done sweetie." Beth looked at her braided hair with awe.

"Can you say thank you to Chloe?" Beth looked at her lap while she spoke quietly.

"Thank you, Chloe."

"Any time," Chloe said happily with a big grin, though Beth couldn't see her

"Alright, we gotta brush your teeth before I sing, okay?" Beca said, pulling Beth up onto her hip. She brought Beth to the bathroom and brushed her teeth with her daughter. When they finished, they went back to the living room, per Beth's request, and Beca sat on the floor with Beth in her lap.

"Now?" Beth asked quietly. Beca chuckled, cradling her daughter to her chest.

"Of course princess." Beca took a deep breath before she started singing.

" _Stay awake don't rest your head_

 _Don't lie down upon your bed_

 _While the moon drifts in the sky_

 _Stay awake don't close your eyes_

 _Though the world is fast asleep_

 _Though your pillow's soft and deep_

 _You're not sleepy as you seem_

 _Stay awake don't nod and dream_

 _Stay awake don't nod and dream"_

When she finished the song, Beth was fast asleep in her arms. She carefully stood up and carried her to her bedroom. She tucked her under the sheets and put Repa in her arms.

"Sweet dreams baby girl. I love you," Beca whispered, kissing Beth's forehead once more before going back to the living room. Beca retook the seat next to Aubrey.

"God Beca, that little girl is so sweet!" Chloe gushed quietly. Beca chuckled.

"She seems really smart too," Aubrey pitched in.

"You don't even know. Would you believe me if I told you she just learned how to read and write last week?" Chloe's jaw dropped, and Aubrey's eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. I had to teach her how to read and write. Her sorry excuse for parents never even let her go to school," she said sadly.

"What happened to her leg?" Chloe asked softly. Beca's hands balled into fists instantly.

"Her dad, if you want to call him that, he grabbed her by the ankle and swung her into the wall," she said through gritted teeth. Aubrey and Chloe both gasped.

"That's horrible. How could someone do something like that?"

"The same way you don't feed her for days at a time," she retorted bitterly, shaking her head in disgust.

"It's incredible. Taking her in like this," Aubrey said, changing the subject. Beca shrugged, but she was thankful for the subject change.

"She deserves better. She's… never had anyone on her side before. She's all alone, and that… that really sucks. Especially since she's so young, you know? I don't want her to be alone anymore," she said softly. She hoped that the seniors understood the underlying message, since she was trying to give them bits and pieces of her over time, so she can eventually tell them about her childhood.

"You, Beca Mitchell, are amazing."

"Thanks, Chlo," Beca said, returning the smile she was given.

"Can I ask you something?" Aubrey asked. When Beca nodded, she spoke again.

"This is a really nice apartment. How can you afford this?" Beca hadn't thought about how to answer that. She bit her lip and thought 'take that fucking step Mitchell!'

"My, uh, grandparents were filthy rich. Apparently they passed, so it all went to me when I learned about it from Sheila," she said slowly, trying to gauge their reactions.

"Wow, seriously? Wouldn't it have been left for your mom or dad?" Chloe asked.

"It was originally for my mom, yeah, but uh, I'm the only living relative, so it came to me." Aubrey put her hand on Beca's arm.

"When did she pass?"

"When I was six," she said with a shrug.

"Oh Becs, I'm so so-"

"I'm not," she said, cutting off the redhead's apology. Both of them seemed confused.

"She wasn't much of a mother when she was here. I don't miss her." They were all quiet for a few beats. Beca could see that they wanted to know more, but they didn't for fear of her shutting them out. Which Beca was glad for, this is about her limit for sharing right now.

"So, anyone wanna watch Grey's?" The three sat on the couch together, Beca somehow in the middle, and started watching. When Beca looked at the clock, it was already late.

"Shit, I didn't realize it was already ten. You-" Beca was cut off by a distinct cry.

"Mommy!" That was the loudest Beca had ever heard Beth speak. She jumped off the couch and bolted into Beth's room, finding the girl curled up under her covers crying. The fact that Beth called her "mommy" went completely unnoticed.

"Beth. Beth princess, come here." Beca picked Beth up out of the bed and started lightly bouncing her. She found the nickname princess rather suiting, so she was gonna stick with it.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Beth nodded through her, now much quieter, tears and rested her head on Beca's shoulder.

"Was it about Theresa?" Beca asked, pressing a kiss to Beth's temple. She nodded into her shoulder.

"You're okay Beth. I won't let them hurt you anymore. I promise." Beth gripped Beca's shirt a little harder. Beca had an idea, so she slowly walked to the living room once Beth had calmed down a little bit.

"Hey," she said, greeting the two worried girls in her living room.

"It's late, so if you wanna crash here, you can take my bed. I'll be with Beth in her room, as long as you don't mind sharing." Beth nodded again, and both seniors gave an affirmative.

"Alright. Mine is the second on the left, bathroom is the first on the left, but there's one in the master if you want to use that one." Chloe came up first, kissing Beca's cheek.

"Night Becs. Night Beth," she added, patting the girl's back softly as she went toward the bedroom. Aubrey did the same, then Beca headed to Beth's room. She set Beth down and went to her room to get herself some pajamas. She changed out of her jeans and flannel into pajama pants and a t-shirt, since the two seniors were in the bathrooms, then went back to Beth's room.

"Alright, let's get some sleep." Beth was so close to Beca that she was practically on top of her. Beca chuckled lightly as she rolled onto her back, resting Beth on her torso.

"There. We can't get much closer than this, right?" Beth gave her a tiny smile.

"Goodnight Beth. I love you."

"I love you too mommy," was whispered. Alright, Beca was proven wrong. Being called 'mommy' was now her favorite thing in the world. Beca fell asleep, but only after listening to Beth's even breathing for half an hour.

Beca woke up to someone lightly poking her shoulder. She cracked her eyes open and saw Beth looking at her with scared eyes. She had gotten over her crabbiness in the mornings since she took Beth in. Well, at least toward Beth.

"Can I help you princess?" She asked with a smirk. Beth nodded and squirmed a little.

"Bathroom?" She nodded again, so Beca rolled out of the bed. Literally. She forgot she was in Beth's room and rolled right off the edge, her forehead making a solid _thud_ on the floor. Beth peaked over the edge of the bed as Beca rolled onto her back, rubbing her forehead.

"Well, that could have been better, huh?" Beth nodded, a small smile on her face. Beca stood and picked her up, and Beth gently touched her forehead with tiny, cold fingers.

"You bruised it mommy," she said quietly. Her heart swelled when Beth called her 'mommy' again.

"Yeah, but I showed that floor who's boss, didn't I?" Beth giggled as they stepped into the bathroom. Beca set Beth on the floor while she looked at her forehead in the mirror. There was a large bruise forming in the center of her forehead. She sighed and shook her head, knowing she would cover it later. Beth poked Beca's leg, so she looked down at her.

"Did you just poke me with those grubby little fingers?" Beca asked jokingly. Beth smiled and nodded, poking her leg once more. Beca placed a hand over her heart.

"What am I going to do? I've been infected!" She said dramatically. Beth giggled, so she took it as a win. She scooped her daughter up.

"You know what? It's okay. I don't mind being infected for you." Beth was focused on washing her hands, but Beca saw the smile on her face.

"Now, are you ready for breakfast?" Beth nodded, so they made their way to the kitchen. Aubrey was in there holding a mug of what Beca assumed to be coffee. Aubrey was looking at her arm, and that would be when Beca remembered she was wearing a t-shirt. She cursed silently, knowing she would have to explain those later.

"Morning Bre."

"Good morning Beca. Good morning Beth," she said softly. She didn't look at Aubrey, but she did speak softly.

"Morning Bre." Aubrey beamed at Beca, who smiled softly at her daughter.

"What was that noise earlier? Did something fall?" Aubrey asked. Beca pouted a little, but Beth smiled at her, nodding slightly.

"The floor said something nasty about my princess, so I just had to show it who the boss is. Isn't that right?" She asked, tickling Beth's side a little. She nodded through her giggles.

"So, what do you want for breakfast?" Beth bit her lip for a moment, then answered softly.

"Pancakes?"

"You wanna go eat pancakes?" Beth nodded.

"Alright. Do you want to invite Aubrey to go with us?" Beth nodded, so Beca looked at the blonde with a raised eyebrow. She was smiling, what could only be described as, adoringly at the two brunettes.

"I would love to eat breakfast with you. Thank you for inviting me Beth," Aubrey said.

"Do you wanna invite Chloe when she gets up?"

"Invite Chloe to what?" The woman in question asked, stepping into the kitchen with a yawn. Beca then noticed that both seniors were in their clothes from yesterday.

"Breakfast," Beth said softly.

"You want me to come with you?" Beth nodded. Chloe gave her the signature Beale Mega Watt Smile.

"I would love to! What are we having?"

"Pancakes. Our favorite," Beca said.

"I love pancakes!" Beca watched Chloe with an amused expression. She was more like a child than the actual five year old. Beca looked at Beth, who was doing the same thing she was, watching Chloe with a weird expression.

"Don't worry about her, Beth, she gets excited really easily," Beca stage whispered. Beth buried her face in Beca's shoulder, and she felt the girl smiling.

"You guys want to go home and shower and stuff? We can meet you there? The usual." The two nodded, and left the apartment with a hug and plans to meet for breakfast in half an hour.

"So you like Chloe and Aubrey?" Beca asked Beth a few minutes after they had left. Beth nodded.

"So you would be okay with them hanging out with us?" Beth nodded again.

"They make you happy mommy," she said quietly. Beca quirked an eyebrow.

"They do, but I'm happy with you too. If you don't want them around, then they won't be. You are more important to me." Beth looked at her strangely.

"I mean it. If you are uncomfortable, then you won't see them anymore."

"I like them," Beth responded, just as quiet as before. Beca looked at the girl for a moment before it clicked.

"You're not still scared I'm going to leave you, are you?" Beth shook her head.

"Are… are you scared that… _they_ are gonna leave _us_?" Beth's eyes welled up as she nodded.

"Oh Beth, trust me, I thought that too for awhile. They've been my friends for almost a year now, I don't think they would leave unless we wanted them to. We're kinda stuck with them." Beth looked up at her for confirmation.

"I promise, princess." Beth nodded again, this time a little more confident than the last.

"Alright, now, we have to go somewhere this afternoon." Beth's brows creased.

"I have a doctor's appointment, but this doctor… she's a special doctor." Beth only got more confused.

"This doctor doesn't help people who have colds. This doctor helps people who went through something bad that need help. You know how loud noises scare you?" Beth nodded, still confused.

"Well, they scare you because when you were with Thomas and Theresa, they yelled at you a lot, didn't they?" Beth nodded sadly.

"So loud noises remind you of them, and they scare you, so the loud noises scare you. Does that… make any sense?" Beth nodded, and Beca sighed in relief.

"Well, this doctor talks to me so that I can figure out what scares _me_. She gives me medicine to help keep me calm too, because people scare me. When I was your age… I went through some stuff, princess. Some really awful things, so when you're scared of things, I understand, okay?" Beth looked worried then.

"When we go to the doctor, I can tell you more about what happened when I was little, but right now we need to get dressed for pancakes." Beth nodded, agreeing to wait until the doctor's appointment to learn about her mother. Beca dressed them both, herself in jeans and a flannel, and Beth in jean shorts and a red and white striped t-shirt. Beth had asked for the red t-shirt to match Beca's red and black flannel. They also had on matching black Converse. Beca drove them to the cafe and carried Beth inside. They got their first, so they took the booth that the three girls usually sat in. Beca ordered drinks for everyone. As the waitress left, the two others came in and sat across from them.

"I ordered your drinks for you," Beca greeted. The two seniors smiled in thanks. Beca's phone vibrated, so she checked it. It was confirmation that she was allowed to bring Beth to class with her. This was the last teacher she was waiting for too.

"Hey sweetie, that was my teacher." Beth looked up at her.

"Guess who's coming to class with me?" Beth smiled and pointed at herself. Beca reached down and tickled her slightly.

"Yes, you. Who else would I bring with me, huh? Huh?" Beth giggled until Beca pulled her hands back, pulling Beth with her. She placed the girl in her lap and kissed her head.

"You're bringing her to your classes with you?" Chloe asked.

"Uh, yeah. No way in hell would I leave her all day. I think I'd miss you too much," she said, addressing the girl in her lap. She got a small smile in return, and she took it as a 'me too.' Before anyone said anything else, the waitress set their drinks down and took their orders. They all ordered pancakes, but each got something different on them. Aubrey got chocolate chips, Chloe got strawberries, Beca got blueberries, and Beth got bananas. Beca opened Beth's chocolate milk for her, then took a sip of her coffee. The breakfast was peaceful. It was happy and comfortable. They parted when Chloe and Aubrey had to head to their lab, which they took together. After Beca buckled Beth into her seat, she closed the door and was approached by the two seniors.

"Beca," Aubrey said, getting her attention. She took two steps to close the distance between them a little.

"That little girl… we still want to be with you. She's an amazing kid, and you're… so good with her. Chloe and I are still in this. We still want to try."

"We are willing to go as slow as you need to. And we want you to know that you aren't doing this alone. Me and Bre'll help with her however we can," Chloe added. Beca nodded her head and ran a hand through her hair, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"I… yeah. Yeah, okay," she said thickly. Both of the seniors hugged her, and she rested her head on whatever shoulder was in front of. Aubrey's based on the height of it.

"We'll always be here for you Becs. And for Beth too," Chloe said. Beca wrapped her arms around the two girls, grounding herself in the moment, making sure she didn't dissociate, because now was not the time. Not that any time _really_ was, but you get the point.

"Ok, go to class nerds. I'll see you later." With that, they separated ways, and Beca had to try to prepare herself for her therapist visit.

At one o'clock, Beca and Beth loaded into the car to head to Dr. Taylor's office. They got there at ten after, and Dr. Taylor herself came out five minutes later.

"Beca! Come on back," she said happily. Beca scooped her daughter up and followed the woman into her office. Dr. Taylor had been in the system herself, knew what it was like to have shitty parents. She was taller than Beca, but not as tall as Aubrey, and had medium length brown hair and soft hazel eyes. Beca sat down with Beth on the couch in Dr. Taylor's office, and she sat in her office chair. Upon being sat on her own part of the couch, even though she was pressed to Beca's side, she promptly climbed into her mother's lap. Beca wrapped her arms around her daughter and kissed the top of her head.

"Hi there. My name is Dr. Hannah Taylor, you can call me Hannah. What's your name sweetie?" Beth looked up at Beca, who smiled softly.

"Beth," she said quietly, looking at her lap.

"Beth? Well, that's a cute name. So, when did you meet Beca?" Beth smiled at the topic of her mother.

"Last week."

"And you live with Beca now?" Beth nodded happily. Beca was glad the girl was showing emotions more frequently now.

"Do you like living with Beca?" Beth nodded again.

"What about you Beca? Do you like living with Beth?"

"Of course I do. I love my princess, isn't that right?" She asked, directing her question at the girl in her lap. She nodded with a smile.

"I love you too mommy," she said quietly. Beca kissed her nose, the looked back up at Dr. Taylor.

"So Beth, did Beca tell you what kind of doctor I am?" Beth nodded again.

"Well, to help Beca get better, we have to talk about what happened when she was little. Beca, are you alright with Beth hearing this?" Beca nodded immediately.

"Yeah, definitely." Dr. Taylor nodded.

"Alright. How have you been these past few weeks health wise?" Beca blew out a breath.

"Uh, the anxiety has been manageable. And I've been… alright with the dissociating. There has only been one… bad one."

"And what happened?"

"Uh, we were at a Bellas practice. I had brought Beth with me because I didn't want to leave her for two hours. I was okay when Amy yelled at Beth and scared her, but um… Stacie, I think, she uh… she took off a belt," she said with shame. Beth turned around in her lap then, sitting sideways so she could see her mother.

"What happened when she took the belt off, Beca?" Dr. Taylor asked carefully.

"I, uh… I dissociated. And um…" Beca got chills thinking about it.

"I remember that afternoon. I wasn't feeling well, so I went to the nurse's office. I missed a class, and the teacher called and told Lucy I skipped. She… she was so mad. She… she used the buckle that afternoon. I remember having gone to the hospital that night. Lucy made me say I got mugged. I had a broken arm, fractured ribs, and huge gashes that needed stitches on my stomach and shoulder." Beca saw Beth had tears falling down her face.

"Oh princess, don't cry," she said, wiping Beth's tears away.

"Why?" Beth asked sadly.

"My birth mom died when I was six, so I was put in the foster system. Do you know what that means?" Beth shook her head.

"Basically, kids who don't have anyone to take care of them can be adopted. That's what happened to me. I had a couple people who took me, but I didn't stay with any of them for very long. Most of them were… well, they weren't good parents. Then when I was about… 12, I was adopted by Lucy Perez. Lucy is a lot like Theresa, sweetie. Only… worse." Beth looked horrified. She launched herself into her mother's torso, hugging her tightly. Beca wrapped her arms around the little girl.

"Does it hurt?" She asked into Beca's shoulder.

"Not as much as before. And it hurts less now that I have you. You make me stronger, princess. Do you know why?" Beth shook her head.

"Because I see you being so strong all the time. So, as much as you think I'm helping you, you're helping me too." Beth looked up at her mother with tear filled eyes.

"Really?" Beca gave her a watery smile.

"Yes princess, really." Beth smiled then buried her face in Beca's shoulder.

"Who's Theresa?" Dr. Taylor asked softly. Beth stiffened in Beca's arms.

"Beth's birth mother."

"Beth? Did Theresa hit you?" Beca gently coaxed her to sit sideways again. Beth nodded at Dr. Taylor once she had calmed down.

"What about your dad? Did he hit you?" Beth nodded again.

"Did they feed you?" Beth shook her head, and Beca brushed some of her hair out of her face gently.

"How did Beca find you?"

"I ran away."

"You ran away from home?" She nodded again.

"I found her after work last Thursday. Took her to get some food, then went to the hospital."

"And you're adopting her?" She asked curiously.

"I am. We had her removed from her birth parents' custody already. There'll be a hearing at the end of the month, then one regarding me getting permanent guardianship of Beth like a month after." Dr. Taylor smiled, then nodded approvingly.

"I think that's wonderful. I'm assuming you moved out of your dorm then?"

"Yeah, Beth and I got our own place. Beth got her very own room, and we even painted it, didn't we?" Beth nodded, smiling at the memory of covering each other with paint. Beca and Dr. Taylor spent a few more minutes discussing how her previous two weeks had gone, and what her plans with Beth were. Beth was asked a question here and there, and she answered mostly with nods. The only time she didn't was when Dr. Taylor had asked who Beca is to her. Beth had gone so far as to look Dr. Taylor in the eyes when she answered with a proud, "she's my mommy." Beca had teared up at that, but settled for kissing the crown of Beth's head. When the hour was up, Dr. Taylor asked if she could speak to Beca privately for a moment. Beca left Beth on the couch and closed the door, speaking in the hall.

"I just wanted to tell you that what you're doing for that little girl is amazing. I can see that she's traumatized, but I'm going to guess that she's been making leaps and bounds of progress since you took her in?"

"She really has. I mean, she could barely speak when I first found her, now she talks to me, she laughs… I…do you think she needs to see a therapist?" Hannah shook her head with a smile.

"I don't think so. Not now, anyway. She seems to be doing alright, as far as kids from abused homes go. She may need to see one when she's older, able to process the events better. I believe she'll be fine as long as she has you.."

"She'll have me. Always," Beca said with conviction.

"Then I'm fairly certain that you're enough to help her until she's a bit older. She trusts you. You of all people know how difficult that is for her." Beca nodded.

"I do. That's why I never plan on breaking it. I'm going to do everything I can for her. And I will for as long as she'll let me." Dr. Taylor nodded her head with a smile.

"I'm happy for you Beca. Both of you." Beca smiled.

"Yeah, me too."


	6. Chapter 6- Going to Class Getting Sick

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit short, but it's setting up for the next chapter which I want stand alone. I'm still working on the next chapter, but it's getting there. So, here this is, please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6- Going to Class and... Getting Sick?

The following week, Beca had to return to class. Going to class with Beth had been _almost_ flawless. Everything was fine until her marketing class on Wednesdays. The class only meets on Wednesdays, so it's two hours instead of one. Beca had walked in with five minutes to spare and chose a seat in the middle. She knew there were extra seats in this class, so she let Beth sit in a chair next to her.

"Here you go princess," she said, handing Beth a workbook and a coloring book, as well as a pencil and a small pack of Crayons. Beth gave her a small smile as she selected her coloring book and opened to the first blank page. Someone sat on Beca's other side, and she was about to ask them to move when she noticed it was CR.

"Hey, B, it still cool if I sit with you?" She asked, glancing at Beth. Beca nodded.

"Beth, princess, this is mommy's friend CR, can you say hi?" Beth looked up at her and waved timidly. CR smiled and waved back.

"Hey girlie, whatcha got there? Is that Maleficent? Man, I love that movie!" Beth gave her a small smile and nodded, then continued coloring the half-dragon. Beca leaned over and kissed the crown of her head, then got her stuff for class out. When the door at the front of the room opened, Beca swore under her breath as a substitute walked in. Not just any substitute, Mr. Fipkins, the asshole that marked you absent if you were _two_ minutes late. The one Beca had mouthed off to when he subbed for her music theory class a few weeks back.

"Alright, sit down and shut up. I'm Mr. Fipkins, and I'm subbing today. If you…" when he trailed off, Beca looked up, from her book because CR elbowed her, and saw that he was staring at her. Not _her_ , but her child.

"Excuse me miss…"

"It's Beca," she supplied. He pushed his glasses down his nose and looked over the lenses at her, clearly recognizing her face.

"Ah, _Rebeca_ , how _wonderful_ to have you again. Now, I hate to tell you, but there are no children allowed."

"I already emailed Mrs. Johnson, and she told me it was fine," Beca said, trying to hold her temper. She was already pissed the guy was calling her out like this, since she saw Beth, who stopped drawing, was sitting stock still.

"Well, _I_ am not Mrs. Johnson, and _I_ do not allow children in _my_ class. She may sit outside while we-"

" _Excuse me?_ " Beca hissed, standing up angrily.

"Do you have something to say, _Rebeca_?" She hated the way he sneered her name. He had refused to call her Beca; hence why she had gone off at him when he subbed for her music theory class.

"You can not be serious right now. You expect me to leave my five year old daughter in the hallway of a college for two hours? Are you out of your _fucking_ mind?" Beca saw a couple of the other students nodding their agreement with her.

"I would advise you to watch your language. If you will not follow the rules of my classroom, then I will have to ask you to leave."

"So now I'm being punished for being a mother? Are you saying that I'm not allowed to get an education because I have a child?" She asked, keeping her voice down, but letting the icy tone set in, her brain already coming up with a plan of action.

"I'm not saying that at all. I am saying that your education should not be… _disturbed_ by children."

"School policy states that any student may bring a child they are responsible for to the class as long as the child doesn't disrupt the class," CR pitched in. Beca shot her a grateful glance, CR nodding in response.

"I don't care what the policy states. I do not allow children in my class, so unless Rebeca wants to leave the child outside, she will not be welcome in my classroom."

"Fine. I'll go," she said, calmly packing up her things. She grabbed Beth's books and picked her daughter up. Mr. Fipkins smiled arrogantly at her as she walked out of the room. Beca marched straight toward the administrations building. While she was walking, she heard Beth sniffle.

"Hey, princess, hey, what's wrong?" She stopped to wipe the tears from her daughter's eyes.

"He yelled at you be-because of me," Beth said through her sobs.

"No. He didn't yell at me because of you. He's done mean things like that to me before. He's just a meanie. And do you know what we do when people are meanies?" Beth shook her head, bouncing the pigtails she had asked Beca to give her that morning.

"If we can't get them to stop on our own, like I tried, then we go tell an adult. So we are going to see Mrs. Williams to make sure he isn't mean to anyone else, okay?" Beth nodded, so Beca continued walking. When they reached the administrations building, Beca stopped outside to call Hank. It only rang twice before he picked up.

" _Beca? I thought you had a class."_

"Yeah, about that… can you meet me at the admin building?"

" _Is something the matter?"_

"I'll explain when you get here."

" _I'll be there in five."_

"Thanks, Hank."

" _No problem, Bec."_

Hank, as he said, was there about five minutes later wearing his regular work attire that consists of a 3-piece suit and dress shoes.

"So, what's the problem?" He asked as he stepped up to them.

"You know the school's policy on bringing someone to class, right?"

"Yes, of course. You can bring kids or siblings if you are taking care of them," he said with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, well, Fipkins couldn't give two shits about it. He told me to leave Beth in the hallway or get out of his classroom." Hank's eyebrows set angrily.

"The shit he said had already upset Beth, and pissed me off, so I just left."

"Were you going to speak to-"

"Mrs Williams? That's why we're here now. I figured it would be better if I brought you to vouch for me."

"Of course Beca. You sit in the office with Beth, I'll talk to Sally for you."

"Thanks Hank," she said with a grateful smile. Hank returned it, then walked into the office with her. Beca took a seat with Beth in her lap while Hank spoke to the woman behind the desk, who directed him to Mrs. Sally Williams's office.

"Mommy?" Came the timid question. Beca looked down at her daughter in her lap, who was staring at her feet.

"What is it sweetie?"

"Do I dis… disturb your education?" Beca spun Beth around so she was facing her.

"You don't disturb anything. You make me so happy. I love having you with me. Do you know why?" Beth shook her head, still not meeting Beca's eyes. She tilted Beth's chin up with her finger.

"Because I love _you_. Don't ever think anything different. No matter what anyone else says. Okay?" Beth gave her a tiny smile and nodded, then threw her arms around Beca's neck.

"I love you too mommy," she responded as Beca wrapped her arms around her. When they pulled back, they were both smiling. Beca decided to teach Beth how to braid hair while they waited for Hank. By the time Beth was able to braid Beca's hair, Hank was walking out of Mrs. Williams office. Beca stood, bringing Beth with her.

"How'd it go?"

"Sally is going to take care of it. He won't be welcome to teach here anymore."

"Thanks for this Hank," she said earnestly.

"Of course. Anything to help you girls out."

"You want to go home sweetie?" Beth nodded in response.

"Alright, let's go then. I'll see you later, Hank."

"Bye girls." Beca started walking to her car when she had an idea.

"Hey Beth? Have you ever played on a playground before?" Beth shook her head, a confused look on her face.

"Well, today is the day to change that then. What do you say? You wanna go play with me?" Beth nodded with a smile, so that's where they went. When they arrived at the park, Beca noticed there were a few other kids there and a group of parents all sitting at a table. Beca had Beth on her hip, and felt when the girl gripped her shirt a bit tighter.

"Hey, I'm not leaving you, okay? You don't have to play with the other kids if you don't want to." Beth nodded.

"Ok, so, we can do merry-go-round, swings, monkey bars… what do you think looks fun?" Beth looked around the park and, after a moment of deliberation, pointed at the monkey bars.

"Monkey bars it is." Beca walked them over, and set Beth on the top step, holding both of Beth's hands in hers to keep her balanced.

"Okay, put your hands up here on these bars, and try to reach to the next one and grab on, okay?" Beth nodded, a little fear in her eyes. Beca held Beth's hips as she held onto the bars and hung there.

"Take one of your hands and reach for the next bar, you can do it." Beth carefully swung her left hand to the bar in front of her and gripped it.

"Now bring your other hand over." Beca made sure that she had a light grip in case Beth fell, but it didn't seem like she really needed the help. She swung to the next bar a bit faster than the first one, and Beca tentatively let go of her hips. Beth just swung right over to the next one. Beca watched in awe as she zipped to the other side, grabbing her when she reached the end while laughing happily.

"You did it! Look at you go!"

"I did it?" Beth asked with awe.

"You did it all by yourself!" She smiled then started laughing happily.

"I did it!" She said to Beca.

"Yes you did," she responded, the feeling of pride overwhelming her.

Beca and Beth played on the monkey bars until Beth's hands were starting to turn red, then switched to swings, which Beth loved as well. They were there for almost two whole hours when Beth had told Beca, with drooping eyes, that she was tired. Beca had promptly scooped her off the swing and walked the now sleeping child to the car. While they had been playing, Beca had failed to hear one of the other kids coughing his lung up.

* * *

Beca didn't have any classes Friday, so she was just going to spend the day with Beth. There was a new movie coming out that Beth looked interested in, so they were going to see that in the early afternoon, then grab some lunch. Halfway through the movie, Beth started coughing.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Beca asked as she picked Beth up when the movie ended. Beth shook her head, resting it on Beca's shoulder. Her forehead was _hot_ , which worried her.

"We're gonna have to go to the doctor's princess. Get you feeling better." Beth merely nodded, obviously not feeling well. She took her to a 24 hour clinic and, after a swab test, got Beth diagnosed with strep throat and a cold. They gave her a prescription and directions to take care of her. When they got home, Beca carried Beth inside.

"Do you wanna take a bath and put on your jammies?" Beth nodded softly into her shoulder. She bathed Beth gently and quickly with cool water, then changed her into pajamas. She gave her some of the medicine that the doctor had given her.

"What do you wanna do princess?" She asked softly, running her cold fingers over Beth's warm forehead.

"Nap?" she asked softly with a clear rasp in her voice from her coughing and sore throat.

"Anything you want." Beca slowly walked them toward Beth's room, but a hand clenched into her shirt.

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"Cuddle?" Beca was instantly reminded of a child. The question was so innocent and pleading. She felt herself melt. She moved toward the master instead. She laid Beth on the bed gently and changed into her own pajamas. She slid under the covers, and Beth clambered over and laid on her chest, sighing when she settled.

"I love you, Beth," she whispered as she kissed her daughter's temple.

"I love you too mommy," she muttered with a few coughs. A song popped into her head, so she started singing softly, hoping to lull her daughter to sleep.

" _Hey little girl look what you've done_

 _You've gone and stole my heart and made it your own_

 _You've stole my heart and made it your own_

 _Hey little girl, black and white and right and wrong_

 _Only live inside a song I was sing to you_

 _You don't ever have to feel lonely_

 _You will never lose any tears_

 _You don't have to feel any sadness_

 _When you look back on the years_

 _How can I look you in the eyes_

 _And tell you such big lies_

 _The best I can do is try to show you_

 _How to love with no fear"_

Beca's voice drifted off when she heard Beth's breathing even out. She set an alarm so she could try to make sure Beth ate something for dinner, then she let herself drift off.

* * *

Waking up Saturday had been less than pleasant for Beca. Before she even cracked her eyes, she felt the rather sharp pain in her throat and just how _dry_ her mouth was. She swallowed and felt the immediate relief, but it was then replaced by an even worse pain than before. She groaned as she turned her head to check on the girl curled into her side. Before she could even try to rouse Beth, the little girl was coughing. Beca tried to soothe her, but was cut off by her own coughing fit.

"Looks like we're both sick, huh princess?" She rasped out, scooping Beth up out of the bed. They both agreed that fruit would be good for breakfast, since their throats hurt. Beca sat Beth at the table and cut up strawberries, a banana, and an apple. The two of them were clearly under the weather, but they sat together and made the best of their breakfast, playing with the fruit. After breakfast, Beca was feeling admittedly worse than when she had woken up, and Beth was too.

"Mommy?" Came the raspy voice on her chest. They had settled onto the couch to rest and watch movies.

"Yes princess?"

"You're taking care of me," she said quietly. Beca looked down at her.

"Of course I am."

"Who takes care of you?"

"Don't worry about me sweetie I just-" She was cut off by some rough coughs.

"I just want you to be okay, princess."

"But I want you to be okay too," Beth said with a frown.

"I'm okay princess." Beth was still frowning. Beca poked at her frown.

"Hey, none of this pouting nonsense." Beth just pouted more.

"What can I do princess? Hmm?" Beth looked at her seriously.

"Call C and A."

"C and A? You mean Chloe and Aubrey?" Beth nodded.

"You call them that?"

"Less talking," she said shyly. Beca smiled at her softly, kissing her forehead.

"Would it make you feel better if I had them come over to take care of us?" Beth nodded, grimacing as she coughed again, then rested back against her mother's torso.

"Alright, I'll call them." She pulled her phone out and dialed Aubrey.

" _Hello?"_

"Hey Bre," she said roughly.

" _Oh my god, Beca, are you sick?"_

"No, not at all," she deadpanned. She was cut off from saying anything else by a rough coughing fit.

" _I'm on my way, and I'll let Chloe know to come over after her study group ends. Do you need anything?"_

"Some OTC cold stuff. And cough syrup?"

" _I'll be there in 15."_

"Okay." The line clicked, and Beca looked down at Beth, who gave her a weak smile.

"Aubrey will be here in 15 minutes. Chloe will come later, she's studying." Beth nodded resolutely, satisfied she had been able to get someone to come take care of her mommy.

Before either of them realized, there was a knock at the door.

"It's open!" Beca called out roughly. She heard the door open, and someone take their shoes off, then the footsteps came in her direction until they were right next to her. She felt the blonde kneel next to the couch, then place her cold hand on her forehead.

"God, your hand feels good," she muttered. Aubrey chuckled lightly.

"You don't look so good. Have you guys eaten anything today?"

"Fruit for breakfast," she said quietly.

"Alright. Let me get a spoon, and I'll give you some cough syrup so you can get some rest, okay?" Beca nodded, running her hands over Beth's back gently. A few moments later, Aubrey was back next to the couch.

"Beca, can you sit up a little bit?" Beca carefully sat herself up against the end of the couch and opened her eyes for the first time since the blonde came over. She had on a t-shirt and cutoff jean shorts, and her hair was in a ponytail. Beca opened her mouth to accept the medicine.

"Thanks for coming over, Bre," she said as the blonde brushed some of her hair behind her ear for her.

"Of course I came. And Chloe will be here in a few minutes. She left as soon as I called her." Beca's brows furrowed.

"She didn't have to do that."

"No, she didn't. But she wanted to. It's the same reason I came right over. I was actually surprised you called me. It's not like you to ask for help," she said carefully.

"Beth told me I had to."

"I'll make sure to thank her when you're both feeling better then. Do you wanna lie down, get some rest?"

"I'll wait til Chloe gets here, I think," she said drowsily.

"Okay. Do you want me to put Beth in her room?" Beca hesitated, but she knew she wouldn't have the strength to carry her to her bed, so she nodded.

"Can you make sure… make sure that she has Repa?" She paused halfway through to cough into her elbow. Aubrey nodded, then carefully picked Beth up off of her. Beca watched Beth shift for a moment, subconsciously noticing the lack of her mother, but calmed down a little as she gripped Aubrey's shirt. Beca smiled dopily at the sight. While Aubrey was putting Beth in her room, Beca managed to sit up more, so now she was reclining against the couch. Aubrey came back in and gently sat on the couch.

"Come here," she said gently, opening her arms for Beca.

"Don' wanna get you sick," she said quietly, trying not to strain her voice.

"I don't care. Come here." Beca sighed as she shuffled over and rested her head on the blonde's lap. Slender fingers started combing through her hair, and she sighed contently. She rolled over so she was facing Aubrey's abdomen and grabbed her free hand, tangling their fingers. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling as she waited for Chloe. It was only a few minutes before the redhead came in quietly. She walked into the room and greeted them with a whisper.

"Hey Becs. How you feelin?"

"Like shit."

"You wanna lie down? Try to get some sleep?" Beca didn't answer. She knows what she wants, she just won't ask for it. She wants to lie down, but she wants Aubrey and Chloe to hold her.

"Bec?" Aubrey said, running her knuckle over Beca's cheek. She nodded, then moved to stand. Aubrey helped her up, then the two walked behind Beca to the master. She crawled under the covers, then bit her lip, staring at her fidgeting fingers.

"Get some sleep, Becs. You need it," Aubrey said, pressing a kiss to her temple. She turned to leave, but Beca caught her wrist.

"Stay?" She asked quietly, _vulnerably_. She glanced at both of them, to make sure that Chloe knew she meant both of them, before locking her gaze on her lap. They nodded, then slipped in on either side of her. Beca pressed her back to Aubrey's front, relishing in the feeling of being wrapped up in her embrace, then held the hand that Chloe hadn't draped over her.

"Thanks for taking care of me," she said quietly when they were settled.

"No problem, Beca," Chloe responded, just as quietly.

"I… I've never had anyone take care of me before. It was always me. I just… it means a lot to me that you came," she admitted, not looking Chloe in the eye, knowing they would just be two big pools of blue sadness.

"Anytime Beca," Aubrey said, though Beca could hear the slight strain in her voice, no doubt from her admission. Beca yawned then.

"Get some rest baby," Chloe said lightly. Beca nodded, burying her head in the crook of the redhead's neck, which was so welcomingly cool. She make sure she was holding one of each of their hands, then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Beca woke up to the sound of Beth's cries. She jumped to her feet as quickly as she could, nearly falling with how dizzy she was when she stood. She stumbled down the hall and stood in the doorway of her daughter's room. What she saw almost made her lose her balance. Again. Aubrey was sitting on Beth's bed, the little girl curled up in her lap, and she was humming softly. Beca coughed as she walked in, then dropped down next to Aubrey.

"Hey princess. Did you have another nightmare?" Beth nodded, moving from Aubrey's lap to Beca's. Aubrey ran her hand over Beth's back once more before giving them some space.

"Did Aubrey come in when you cried?" She nodded again.

"I heard her humming, and you were in her lap. Did she make you feel better when she did that?"

"A little," she said softly.

"I'm glad she could help. You wanna go back to sleep?" Beth shook her head.

"Alright, what do you wanna do?"

"Can we play Candyland?"

"Of course princess."

"Can A and C play?" She asked shyly. Beca kissed her temple as she stood, placing Beth on her hip.

"I'm sure if we asked them they would be more than happy to play with us."

They spent the entire afternoon and evening playing various games and watching movies. By the time Beth had fallen asleep on the couch, sprawled out over Beca and Chloe's laps, they had played five games of Candyland and watched Maleficent, which is Beth's favorite movie. Chloe gingerly scooped Beth off of their laps and carried her to her bedroom. Beca leaned to her right, resting her head on Aubrey's shoulder.

"Thanks for helping me take care of Beth," she said quietly.

"No need to thank us," she replied just as softly.

"Beth said that she felt safe with you after her nightmare. And she let Chloe do her hair before. She really likes you guys." Chloe had come back into the room in time to hear that, taking her seat on Beca's other side and lacing their fingers.

"That's good. We like her too," Chloe said. There was a tension in the air, and Beca desperately didn't want to be the one to ask it, but figured she had to since it was _technically_ her house.

"Would… can you stay? With me… tonight?" She stumbled. Chloe squeezed her hand, and the arm Aubrey had around her tightened a bit.

"If you want us to," Aubrey said gently, to which Beca nodded.

"Mhmm," she said drowsily. Her eyes felt heavy, but she managed to stand. She went into her room and opened the drawer of stuff she had bought that week. She tossed the shirts and sweats at the seniors.

"Those will fit," she said as the girls looked at them.

"You… bought us pajamas?" Aubrey asked softly. Beca nodded, scuffing her foot on the ground as she coughed a few times. As soon as she nodded, a body that she automatically knew as Chloe's, launched into her, hugging her tightly.

"Thanks Bec."

"No problem Chlo." The two seniors went into the bathrooms, so Beca changed in her room. She was pulling her sweats up when Aubrey came out of the master.

"Beca there is no way you can wear sweats to bed. You have a fever." Beca's hands froze on her waistband. She couldn't wear shorts. Not in front of them. Not yet.

"I'm fine, Bre," she said shakily.

"Beca you're going to overheat, sweetie. Just put on some shorts."

"I'm fine," she said a little harshly. She noticed Aubrey flinch at her tone, and she sighed.

"I'm sorry Aubrey. I just… please just let me wear the pants," she said softly. Aubrey was concerned then. She stepped over to Beca, placing one of her hands on her shoulder.

"Beca, whatever it is, you can tell us." Beca sighed, then she heard Chloe come in.

"Beca you have a fever you-"

"Chloe," Aubrey said, telling her to let Beca speak. The redhead stepped over to them and took one of Beca's hands in her own.

"I'll wear the shorts on one condition." When Beca saw both of the seniors nod, she took a deep breath to continue.

"You have to promise not to ask any questions. We can talk about this tomorrow, I should be feeling a little better." Aubrey looked contemplative, and Chloe looked downright frightened.

"Okay," the blonde agreed after a few moments, Chlo nodding her agreement. Beca sighed and moved back to her dresser, grabbing a pair of sleep shorts. She took the sweats off and put the shorts on, then turned back around and saw both of them with tears in their eyes and questions ready to fire. She simply held up a hand.

"Please just… wait til tomorrow." Both of them were looking over the brunette's legs with haunted expressions on their faces. They climbed into bed, Beca in the middle, and fell asleep quickly. Two of them anticipating the talk the next morning, one absolutely dreading it.


	7. Chapter 7- Beca's Past

A/N: Trigger warning for major/ descriptive child abuse. Please, please, please do not read this if it will make you uncomfortable. It's fairly graphic, and pretty much the entire chapter. If you insist on reading it, the descriptive stuff is in italics. Those are Beca's memories.

* * *

Chapter 7- Beca's Past

Beca, much to her surprise, slept fairly well. She woke up to an empty bed, though she wasn't surprised, seeing as both Chloe and Aubrey are morning people. Beca sat up and stretched, noting it was a little before eight, and moved the blankets off of her legs. She only woke up this early now because it turns out Beth is an early riser, and she didn't want to make Beth wait around for her to get up. When she moved the blankets, she looked at the several deep cuts and scars that came in smatterings and the gash on her shin that encompassed the entire left side of it. She ran her fingers over the largest one with a heavy sigh, not looking forward to explaining everything. She couldn't think of a way to explain her scars without just telling them everything, not that she has much time to come up with a plan, so she figured she was pretty much stuck having to tell them. She rolled out of bed and padded toward the kitchen to get some coffee, but stopped when she heard the two seniors speaking in hushed voices.

"-on't think it's self harm, Bre. The scars would look different," Chloe said.

"I guess you're right, but the one on her shin is what concerns me. That one looked pretty bad from what I could see last night." There were a few moments of silence before Aubrey spoke again.

"What do you think caused it?"

"I'm not entirely sure I want to know, but I guess we'll figure it out when she gets up, right?" Beca didn't hear a response, and took the silence as good a time as any to walk into the kitchen.

"Morning," she greeted quietly, dreading the moment when their eyes inevitably went back to her legs. They both looked at her with smiles.

"Morning Becs!"

"Good morning, Beca. I didn't know you were a morning person." She simply shrugged as she made herself a cup of coffee, bracing her hands on the counter while she took a few sips. She was hoping she could postpone the conversation just a little to try to gather her thoughts and figure out how the hell to explain everything. She turned and faced them, figuring she'd just bite the bullet and get it over with before Beth woke up.

"Let's do this then," she said, walking to the living room with the other two hot on her heels. They both sat on the couch, so Beca took her office chair and sat facing them, drawing her knees up to her chest. She blew out a deep breath, then started.

"The scars on my legs are mostly from glass," she said evenly.

"Glass?" Chloe asked carefully. Beca nodded.

"Or, glass shards I guess. Let me… just start at the beginning, I guess…" Beca blew out a large breath before she started.

"My birth mom… remember I told you she died, and that I'm not upset that she died?" She waited for nods to continue her story.

"Well, that's because she wasn't the best mom. She had an alcohol problem. I basically raised myself. By the time I was, like, six I was taking care of the house and myself. When she died I went into the system."

"When she drank… did she… did she ever hit you?" Aubrey asked carefully. Beca had a million memories rush through her as a coughing fit rattled her chest.

* * *

 _Rebeca Mitchell is five going on thirty. She took care of everything her mother couldn't be bothered to deal with, meaning the house and her child. Rebeca packed her own lunch, walked herself to kindergarten, walked herself home, cleaned, then ate whatever her mother wanted for dinner. After dinner, Rebeca would find somewhere to hide so her mother couldn't find her in her drunken haze. When her mother had finally passed out, she would clean up the house, then go to bed._

 _Rebeca had memorised the name of the stuff her mother drank and looked it up one time at the public library. Her mother drank a lot of whiskey. And she tended to be violent when she drank, which was all the time, even in the mornings sometimes. The only light in Rebeca's life was when she listened to music on the radio. Music had a way of making her feel safe, less alone._

 _Rebeca was six when it happened. She was sitting in her kindergarten class eating her lunch in the corner. She was much smarter than the other kids her age, so she didn't get along with them too well._

" _Rebeca? Can you come here please?" Her teacher, Mrs. Leighton, had said. Rebeca likes Mrs. Leighton. Especially because she gave her some advanced material without asking her mother first. Rebeca got up and made her way to the front of the classroom, then into the hallway. There were two men wearing green police uniforms and a woman wearing a pantsuit. One of the police officers knelt down so they were at face level with Rebeca._

" _Hi. My name is Officer Hoyt. Is your name Rebeca Mitchell?"_

" _Yes, sir."_

" _Can you tell me your mom's name?"_

" _Amanda Willson."_

" _Is this her?" He asked, holding up a picture of her mother. She was paler than normal, and had blood on her forehead. It looked like she was sleeping. Rebeca could already see where this was going._

" _Did she die?" The officer looked shocked._

" _She was in an accident this morning. She didn't make it."_

" _Was she drunk?" The officer was shocked again._

" _Did your mother drink often Rebeca?"_

" _Did she hurt anyone?" Rebeca asked, ignoring the question._

" _No sweetie. Your mother was the only one harmed in the accident." Rebeca nodded understandingly._

" _What happens to me now?" The officer gestured to the woman in the pantsuit who was next to the other officer._

" _Hello Rebeca. My name is Lily Anderson, I'm a social worker. I'm going to help you find a new home." Rebeca simply nodded again, not sure what else there was to say._

* * *

Beca nodded to answer Aubrey's question when she finished coughing.

"And when she died you went into the system?" Chloe asked, despite her already rising emotions due to the revelation of her own mother's neglect and abuse. Beca nodded again.

"Uh, yeah." She shifted as years of memories filtered through again.

 _Rebeca, who began to use the nickname Beca when she was seven, would like to let the record to show that Lily Anderson is a dirty fucking liar. She didn't help Beca find a new home; she helped shovel Beca onto whoever would take her for the paycheck offered to them by the state. The first one was Robert Poff. Beca was with him for three months before he sent her back to the foster home. He said he couldn't deal with a "defective child who didn't talk." Beca talks. She just doesn't like to talk to people like Robert._

 _Beca never stayed in the foster home for long before someone else would take her. Apparently a "pretty little girl like herself" is an ideal daughter to adopt. The second "home" she got was with Marie and Warren Hale. Beca was seven when she moved in with them; she had celebrated her birthday by herself in the group home. Beca was with the Hale's for six months before Warren hit her the first time. She interrupted him while he was watching the game. The second time he hit her, it was because she spilled her milk on the carpet. After about the tenth time, Marie took Beca back to the home covered in the bruises her husband had put there._

" _I'm so sorry Beca. It's safer for you not to be around him. I couldn't let him keep hitting you like that," she said, kissing Beca's forehead. She simply nodded as she was brought back into the group home. She was in the group home for three weeks, her own personal record, before she got adopted again. The third was a gay couple, Matthew and Andrew. They seemed nice. Only… they had another kid already; Brittany. And she really didn't like Beca. She was one of the men's biological daughter from a previous marriage. Four months after Beca had been adopted by them, it was Brittany's birthday. Can anyone guess what she asked for? To send Beca back. The only thing Beca had gained from them was her stuffed animal; her first one! It was a red panda, since it was her favorite. Beca named her Repa, and Repa began to go with Beca everywhere._

"I had… four homes total. The first didn't last long. Robert Poff. He sent me back because I didn't talk enough for him. The… the second was the Hale's; Marie and Warren. It was like… half a year before he hit me. Marie brought me back because she didn't like that her husband was hitting me. She didn't hate it enough to make him stop, but she didn't let it happen for long, so I guess I'm thankful for that. The third was the Thompsons. Matthew, Andrew, and Andrew's kid Brittany. Brittany made them send me back after a few months." Beca noticed that the two seniors had already started crying, and cringed when she realized that she hadn't even gotten to the worst part.

"So… so those scars are…" Chloe got through her sniffles.

"Uh, not from them. From the fourth…" she trailed off, not wanting to use the word home to describe _that_. She took a deep breath, then let out a humorless laugh.

"I always thought it was funny they called them 'homes.' None of them were homes. Not for me," she admitted bitterly.

"The… the fourth time I was adopted was the last time, but it was definitely the worst. Her… her name was L-Lucy Wright," she said, stumbling through _her_ name.

"Was she abusive too?" Aubrey asked, exasperated at the thought of not only two, but three of her parental figures having been abusive. Beca nodded again.

"Lucy was… she was worse than anyone else though."

"I-in what way?" The redhead asked apprehensively. Beca sighed again.

"She was more… I hate to say creative, but… she came up with ways to hurt me that would never even cross your mind." Beca ran a hand through her hair as the memories of her years with Lucy flew through her mind.

* * *

 _Just after she turned eight, she was adopted again. The woman's name was Lucy Wright; She was the ideal foster parent. Single, no work long hours, tons of money, no kids, big house, no pets. And now she has a daughter._

 _Beca learned very quickly that people are_ not _the same on the outside as they are behind closed doors. Lucy had immediately given Beca several rules to follow, which she did her best to. She lasted a month._

 _Lucy had admitted Beca into the most prestigious, private, all-girls school on the west side of Maine, and Beca had a 4.0 GPA. She was also the captain of the soccer team. Lucy was on the Board of Directors, so she had given Beca very strict rules she had to follow for school. She was_ not _to embarrassing Lucy. Which meant she had to get good grades, never forget her homework, respect the teacher's, pretend Lucy is the most amazing parent, don't miss class, and, no matter what else she did,_ never _get in trouble._

 _It was an accident. She hadn't meant to do it. But they gave her a demerit anyway. She was sitting in the cafeteria at the table the soccer players sit at together, since she was required to as the captain, but Beca was reading. Someone tapped her shoulder, which kicked her reflexes in. After being abused by, not only her own mother, but her previous foster parents as well, Beca became scared easily and did not do well when surprised or touched. Her knee jerk reaction was to jump back and shoot her hands up defensively. Which would be how she broke Sally's nose by accident. Sally wasn't mad, but Beca got a demerit for hitting another student. Lucy wasn't happy._

 _When they got home, Lucy dropped her goody-goody facade and was absolutely livid. She decided then that she needed to discipline Beca better. Her words, not Beca's. That's when the "punishments" started. Whenever Beca did something Lucy deemed bad, she would get hit. It started with Lucy just slapping her, since it wouldn't leave a lasting mark. Well, after the first three months that wasn't enough, since Beca "just couldn't remember how to be a good child." She moved to punching Beca in the stomach. Well, apparently that wasn't enough either, because she soon moved on again. By the time Beca turned nine, she was very familiar with the sting of a leather belt, her thighs and back often covered in long, thick welts._

 _When Beca turned 10, Lucy became more… inventive with her punishments. When Beca "lost the game for the entire team," Lucy locked her in the trunk of the car for an entire night with no dinner. When Beca spilled Lucy's glass of wine on the white couch, she was starved for two days. Beca stopped remembering the excuses Lucy used after that. She only remembers what she did to her. There was the ice bath she was in until her toes had turned blue, the hot coals on her back, being locked in whatever small space Lucy could find, witholding food. One of the worst, in Beca's mind, was when Lucy made Beca put her hand in a fire ant hill. She held Beca's arm still while she screamed and cried from the venom entering her hand from too many places to count. She actually went to go to the hospital for that one. Lucy had faked tears._

" _My poor baby fell on an ant hill in the yard! I didn't know what to do. She was in so much pain. I just hate to see my baby girl in pain."_

 _After the incident at the hospital, Lucy had just stuck with her belt, mostly for fear of someone seeing Beca's injuries and asking questions. Beca had learned how to deal with the leather, but when she switched to the buckle… Well, that was something Beca could never get used to. The metal buckle ripping her skin open, bruising her, leaving scars all over her porcelain skin, even breaking bones. By the time Beca was 18, her body was left covered in scars. Her right elbow had a large gash, her right shoulder had another, each about three inches long and two inches wide. Her back and the backs of her thighs were covered in whip like scars from the leather, and gashes here and there from various objects being thrown at her. Her right hand had several scars from the fire ant incident, her legs had several cuts from glass, and, most noticeably, she has a scar that ran up the entirety of the outside of her left shin. She prefers not to think about that one._

* * *

"Like what?" came her question, bringing Beca out of her memories.

"Uh… she did things… locked me in her trunk, wouldn't feed me, uh, ice baths, just… some really fucked up shit. But her, uh, her favorite was th belt," Beca said, shamefully looking at the floor between her and the seniors.

"The-the scars. What are those from?" Aubrey asked, still not having stopped crying either. Beca didn't answer right away, coughing when she opened her mouth.

"Glass. Dishes and stuff that got thrown at me. I can't remember which scars are from who throwing what anymore," she admitted with a shrug.

"But the one on your left leg…" she trailed off. Beca flinched.

"Sorry, you don't have to answer that, I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine, Bre, just… I've never really talked about it to anyone. Well, except with my psychiatrist, anyway." She ran a hand through her hair and took a couple breaths, refusing to let the memory of that evening take control of her.

"Uh, I think I was… 13 maybe. I had… tried to runaway. When Lucy found me she was… Pissed is an understatement at best. She, uh, beat the living hell out of me. I blacked out, so I don't remember anything other than that. All I know is I woke up in the hospital and was told that I was found outside a warehouse beaten half to death with my leg cut wide open," she said with another shrug.

"But, uh, when I was 17, I, uh, kinda blackmailed Lucy. I showed her that I had hard evidence against her. I made her hire a private investigator. That's how I found Hank. When I was 18, Lucy paid for me to fly out here to meet him. I didn't really have a plan, I just kinda hoped he would help me out when I got here, I guess."

* * *

 _Beca lived with Lucy until she was 18. She had decided to confront Lucy a few months before her 18th birthday. She showed her all the evidence she had compiled during her years with the horrid woman. Videos, sound recordings, before and after pictures of Beca's own body. She had it all._

" _I'm staying here til I'm 18, so I'm legally an adult. I need something from you to get me to agree to not go to the police about this. I need you to hire a private investigator and find my dad, then let me fucking leave. Other than that, don't touch me, don't talk to me, don't even look at me." Lucy had easily agreed, hoping to avoid the girl going to the police, and Beca was gone the day before her eighteenth birthday. Lucy even bought her the one-way plane ticket to Georgia._

 _On the morning of her 18th birthday, Beca took a cab to Hank's house. She knocked on the door and waited patiently. A blonde woman answered the door._

" _Hi. Can I help you?"_

" _Uh, I think I might have the wrong house. I'm looking for… Hank Mitchell?"_

" _I'm sorry, he's at work. What can I do for you?"_

" _Do you know who Amanda Willson is?" Sheila's brows furrowed._

" _Yes. What about her?"_

" _She's my biological mother. Or she was."_

" _Was?"_

" _She passed when I was six." Beca wasn't going to shy away from anything wasn't going to be scared anymore. She could protect herself. She was strong now._

" _I'm so sorry. What does that have to do with Hank?"_

" _Oh, so he never told you. I'm his biological daughter. He left when I was three, or so I was told." Sheila's eyes went wide. She stepped aside after a moment._

" _Why don't you come inside? I believe we have a lot to talk about."_

* * *

"When I met Sheila, she looked into my mom's side of the family and found my grandparents' wills. I, uh, haven't told them about… about my mom, Lucy or the other foster homes, but I think Hank has been trying to… make it up to me since he feels responsible for me being in the system. But, uh, anyway, that's what the scars are from." When she looked up, she saw that both women were still crying silently.

"So… at practice the other day…that has something to do with this, right?" Aubrey asked.

"I… have PTSD. When Stacie took her belt off it kinda… reminded me of Lucy, and I dissociated." The blonde nodded understandingly.

"But this… this is why I had to take Beth in. I… I couldn't let her go through what I did. And… part of it was selfish too. I… It's always just been me. I've never had, like, a family-"

"We're family mommy," came Beth's voice from the hallway. Beca whipped her head around to see her daughter leaning against the wall at the end of the hallway with tears all over her cheeks. Beca all but teleported over to her daughter, scooping her up into a tight embrace.

"Sweetie, you didn't walk out here did you?" Beth shook her head, wrapping herself around her mother as tightly as she could.

"How'd you get out here?"

"Crawled," came the raspy response.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"All'f it." Beca hugged the girl to her tighter.

"You weren't supposed to hear that princess." Beca kissed Beth's forehead, then went back to the seat she had previously occupied.

"No. I wanna know about you mommy," Beth said, pulling back from Beca's shoulder to look at her. Beca's eyes filled with tears.

"I know sweetie."

"Are you okay mommy? Does it hurt?" her daughter asked worriedly, causing her to laugh lightly.

"No sweetie, it doesn't hurt. Not anymore," she said, glancing between her daughter and the two women on the couch who had unknowingly stolen her heart. They were both smiling softly at the two brunettes. Beth crawled off of her mother's lap, then kneeled down on the floor next to her mom's legs. Beth looked at her scarred legs for a moment before kissing Beca's shin, then nodding to herself.

"Better?" She asked, looking up at Beca. Beca nodded as she picked Beth back up, kissing her daughter's forehead.

"Yeah sweetie, all better." It was silent for a few moments while all of the girls tried to regain their composure.. The silence was broken by the older brunette's coughing.

"You don't sound much better than yesterday."

"I feel a little better," she responded to the concerned blonde.

"Do you feel any better princess?" She asked her daughter, who shrugged.

"You wanna go back to bed?" She shook her head again.

"You wanna watch a movie?" Beth nodded.

"Mary Poppins sound good today?" Beth smiled shyly, then nodded.

"Chlo, Bre? You want to join us?"

"Of course," Chloe said for both of them, smiling lightly.

"How about we eat some breakfast first? Hm?" Beth nodded, so they made their way to the kitchen. Both brunettes seemed to be feeling a bit better today, even if only slightly. A bowl of cereal for Beth, and bagels for the three women later, and they were all laying on the couch watching Julie Andrews fly in with her umbrella.

She's not sure where the time went, honestly. They had had so much fun, despite Beca and Beth being under the weather. The two seniors had stayed all day, even for dinner, and it was actually bedtime for Beth. Beca had put her down quickly, Beth having told Chloe and Aubrey goodnight. When Beca went back to the living room, she addressed them a little unevenly.

"So, um, thanks for being here."

"It was no problem Beca," Aubrey answered with a smile.

"We should probably head on out. We've got early classes tomorrow," Chloe said sadly, to which Beca nodded. They gathered their things and headed toward the door, before Aubrey opened the door, Beca caught Chloe's wrist.

"Um, I… uh…" Chloe and Aubrey looked at her while she tripped over her words.

"Beca, spit it out," Chloe said with an amused smile.

"Would you… ya know… go on a date with me? Both of you, I mean." She asked quietly, looking at the ground. She felt Chloe's hand spin around in hers, squeezing gently.

"We would love to, Beca," Chloe said thickly. Beca looked up, nervously glancing between the two seniors who were smiling at her.

"Really?"

"Of course we would." Beca sighed in relief when Aubrey verbalized her agreement.

"Ok, um, I'll text you and we can set up a day?"

"That works for me," Aubrey said, Chloe nodding her agreement.

"Then I'll text you then."

"We'll be waiting." With that, Chloe and Aubrey both pressed kisses to Beca's cheeks and made their way out of the apartment, leaving Beca a pile of mush by her front door.

"I'm going on a date with Aubrey and Chloe," she exhaled. Her eyes went wide after a moment, and the panic set in.

"Holy shit, I'm going on a date with Aubrey and Chloe!"


End file.
